Kentucky air quality

Northfield, Kentucky Air Quality

Jefferson County38.287, -85.641

The nearest monitor to Northfield, at Cannons Lane, 4 miles away, measured an index of 59 at Sun, 11:00 AM EDT, which is Moderate for fine particles (PM2.5). Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District forecasts Moderate for Louisville today and Moderate tomorrow. NOAA’s analysts drew medium wildfire smoke over the town today.

Measured now
59 · Moderate
Today
— · Moderate
Tomorrow
— · Moderate
Pollutant
PM2.5

Fine particles on the map

Forecast fine particulate matter from NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability over Northfield, Kentucky. Open it for the live map, where it pans and zooms.

Forecast fine particulate matter from NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability over Northfield, Kentucky Open the live map with the particulate forecast

Map layer from NOAA National Air Quality Forecast Capability. Boundaries from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.

Alerts in force

An Air Quality Alert is issued by the National Weather Service on behalf of a state or local agency when pollution is expected to reach a level that harms health. An Air Stagnation Advisory means the air will not move enough to clear what is already in it.

None are in force near Northfield right now. All Kentucky warnings.

Now

Moderate

Nearest monitor
Cannons Lane, 4 miles away (site 211110067)
Index measured
59 · Moderate
Measured at
Sun, 11:00 AM EDT
Fine particles
13.9 µg/m³
Ozone
50 ppb
Reporting area
Louisville, KY, 7 miles away
Reported by
Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District
Area index
63 · Moderate

Measured, not modeled. AirNow observations are preliminary until the operating agency certifies them, which happens months later.

Today and tomorrow

Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District's own forecast for Louisville, written by a forecaster rather than read off a model.

DayCategoryIndexPollutant
TodayModeratePM2.5
TomorrowModeratePM2.5

The forecaster’s discussion

Written by Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District for Louisville and filed with AirNow.

PM2.5 has been mostly moderate over the past few days, while ozone has been mostly good. Today will bring temperatures reaching the mid 90's at most. Cloud cover will increase later in the day and dewpoints will be in the 70's. Winds will be primarily from the north, reaching speeds over 5 mph, and mixing heights will rise above 5000 ft. There will be a low chance of scattered storms throughout the period. Tomorrow will bring similar temperatures and dewpoints, as well as partly cloudy skies. Winds will shift to be primarily from the south, reaching speeds near 5 mph, and mixing heights will rise above 5000 ft. Sunday will bring similar conditions; temperatures will reach the mid 90's and dewpoints will stay near 70. Skies will stay partly sunny. Winds will shift to be primarily from the southwest, reaching speeds over 5 mph, and mixing heights will rise above 6000 ft. Monday will bring slightly cooler temperatures, reaching near 90 degrees at most, while dewpoints stay around 70 degrees. Rain chance will increase towards the end of the day and into Monday night. Winds will shift to be primarily from the north, reaching speeds over 5 mph. The NOAA 6Z BC model shows mostly moderate PM2.5 over the next few days, while the Canadian model stays in the good range. The NOAA model is more consistent with recent measurements. Given recent conditions, as well as the relatively light winds, moderate PM2.5 buildup will continue to be possible. The Canadian model shows mostly moderate ozone throughout the next few days while the NOAA 6Z BC model shows mostly good. As temperatures reach into the 90's throughout the next few days, and as we expect to see some partly sunny skies, moderate ozone will be possible.

Hour by hour

NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability, bias-corrected against monitors, for this town’s own coordinate. The worst hour ahead is an index of 59, Moderate, around Sun, 12:00 PM EDT, from the run issued Sun, 8:00 AM EDT. This is a model, not a measurement.

HourIndexCategoryPM2.5Ozone
Sun, 10:00 AM EDT56Moderate13.6
Sun, 11:00 AM EDT58Moderate14.3
Sun, 12:00 PM EDT59Moderate14.1
Sun, 1:00 PM EDT59Moderate13.4
Sun, 2:00 PM EDT58Moderate12.4
Sun, 3:00 PM EDT57Moderate11.2
Sun, 4:00 PM EDT55Moderate1042.7
Sun, 5:00 PM EDT55Moderate10.447.1
Sun, 6:00 PM EDT54Moderate10.250.3
Sun, 7:00 PM EDT52Moderate8.850.9
Sun, 8:00 PM EDT52Moderate949.7
Sun, 9:00 PM EDT45Good7.147.1
Sun, 10:00 PM EDT51Moderate10.442.1
Sun, 11:00 PM EDT53Moderate11.637.2
Mon, 12:00 AM EDT53Moderate9.633.1
Mon, 1:00 AM EDT52Moderate9.328.6
Mon, 2:00 AM EDT51Moderate8.725.3
Mon, 3:00 AM EDT48Good7.923.1
Mon, 4:00 AM EDT42Good6.321.1
Mon, 5:00 AM EDT38Good6.319.2
Mon, 6:00 AM EDT38Good6.718.7
Mon, 7:00 AM EDT38Good6.918.2
Mon, 8:00 AM EDT37Good6.718
Mon, 9:00 AM EDT38Good7.218.9
Mon, 10:00 AM EDT42Good8.419.7
Mon, 11:00 AM EDT42Good7.920.6
Mon, 12:00 PM EDT41Good722
Mon, 1:00 PM EDT38Good624.6
Mon, 2:00 PM EDT34Good5.328.1
Mon, 3:00 PM EDT33Good5.532
Mon, 4:00 PM EDT32Good5.635.2
Mon, 5:00 PM EDT35Good5.538.2
Mon, 6:00 PM EDT37Good640.6
Mon, 7:00 PM EDT39Good8.142.3
Mon, 8:00 PM EDT49Good10.943.3
Mon, 9:00 PM EDT40Good4.943
Mon, 10:00 PM EDT38Good4.241.1
Mon, 11:00 PM EDT35Good4.438.3
Tue, 12:00 AM EDT31Good5.234.6
Tue, 1:00 AM EDT28Good5.129.9
Tue, 2:00 AM EDT31Good6.125.2
Tue, 3:00 AM EDT35Good7.221
Tue, 4:00 AM EDT38Good7.617.4
Tue, 5:00 AM EDT44Good8.914.4
Tue, 6:00 AM EDT45Good8.412.4
Tue, 7:00 AM EDT41Good6.811.1
Tue, 8:00 AM EDT37Good6.111.4
Tue, 9:00 AM EDT37Good6.612.4
Tue, 10:00 AM EDT37Good6.613.7
Tue, 11:00 AM EDT36Good6.314.9
Tue, 12:00 PM EDT39Good7.816.6
Tue, 1:00 PM EDT41Good8.519.3
Tue, 2:00 PM EDT44Good8.923.1
Tue, 3:00 PM EDT46Good927.6
Tue, 4:00 PM EDT46Good8.431.8
Tue, 5:00 PM EDT47Good936.1
Tue, 6:00 PM EDT48Good8.940.1
Tue, 7:00 PM EDT48Good8.843.8
Tue, 8:00 PM EDT48Good8.946
Tue, 9:00 PM EDT43Good3.646.7
Tue, 10:00 PM EDT42Good745.9
Tue, 11:00 PM EDT40Good7.243.9
Wed, 12:00 AM EDT41Good7.941.2
Wed, 1:00 AM EDT42Good7.637.8
Wed, 2:00 AM EDT46Good934.5
Wed, 3:00 AM EDT49Good9.530.9
Wed, 4:00 AM EDT51Moderate9.427.9
Wed, 5:00 AM EDT52Moderate1025.2
Wed, 6:00 AM EDT52Moderate10.222.6
Wed, 7:00 AM EDT54Moderate11.320.1
Wed, 8:00 AM EDT54Moderate10.917.9

Fine particles in micrograms per cubic meter, ozone in parts per billion as an 8-hour average. The index for each hour is EPA’s: the ozone figure is already the 8-hour average the ozone index is defined on, and the particle figure is run through EPA’s NowCast, which is how an hourly PM2.5 concentration becomes an index.

Smoke

NOAA’s Hazard Mapping System analysts drew medium smoke over Northfield in satellite imagery today (Sun, 8:00 AM EDT to Sun, 11:00 AM EDT). That is smoke seen from above; it is not always smoke at ground level.

NOAA’s model forecasts near-surface smoke peaking at 1.6 µg/m³ around Mon, 5:00 AM EDT.

Smoke on the radar over Northfield

What this means

Moderate

Air quality is acceptable. There may be a risk for some people, particularly those who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.

Who is affected
People who are unusually sensitive to ozone or fine particles.
What to do
If you are unusually sensitive, consider making long or intense outdoor activity shorter or easier.
Index range
51 to 100

Category descriptions are the Environmental Protection Agency’s own.

What these numbers are. An index beside a monitor’s name is a measurement, published hourly by AirNow and preliminary until the operating agency certifies it. A category for today or tomorrow is a state or local agency forecaster’s own forecast for a reporting area. An hourly index is NOAA’s air quality model on a five-kilometer grid, not a reading from any instrument. Where a town has no monitor within reach, only the model figures appear, and the page says so.

Nearby

The nearest towns with a page of their own, closest first.

Weather forecast for NorthfieldWarnings in Jefferson CountyLive radar over NorthfieldKentucky air quality

Sources

Observations and daily forecasts from AirNow, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s program with NOAA, the National Park Service, NASA, tribal, state and local agencies. Hourly forecasts from NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability. Smoke analysis from NOAA’s Hazard Mapping System. Alerts from the National Weather Service. Index categories and breakpoints are EPA’s, as revised in 2024.