Kentucky air quality

Pine Knot, Kentucky Air Quality

McCreary County36.651, -84.439

The nearest monitor to Pine Knot, at SOMERST, 32 miles away, measured an index of 51 at Sun, 8:00 AM EDT, which is Moderate for fine particles (PM2.5). NOAA’s air quality model puts the worst hour ahead at an index of 56, Moderate.

Measured now
51 · Moderate
Today
Not forecast
Tomorrow
Not forecast
Pollutant
PM2.5

Radar

Reflectivity now over Pine Knot, Kentucky. Open it to see the particulate forecast on the map.

Open the live radar with the particulate forecast

Radar mosaic and map layers from NOAA MRMS and 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 Pine Knot right now. All Kentucky warnings.

Now

Moderate

Nearest monitor
SOMERST, 32 miles away (site 211990003)
Index measured
51 · Moderate
Measured at
Sun, 8:00 AM EDT
Fine particles
8.4 µg/m³
Ozone
25 ppb
Reporting area
Speedwell, TN, 34 miles away
Reported by
Tennessee Air Pollution Control Div.
Area index
6 · Good

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

Today and tomorrow

No state or local agency has filed a daily forecast for this area. NOAA’s model forecast below covers the same hours.

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 56, Moderate, around Mon, 8:00 PM EDT, from the run issued Sun, 2:00 AM EDT. This is a model, not a measurement.

HourIndexCategoryPM2.5Ozone
Sun, 4:00 AM EDT54Moderate10.8
Sun, 5:00 AM EDT54Moderate10.9
Sun, 6:00 AM EDT54Moderate10.9
Sun, 7:00 AM EDT54Moderate11.4
Sun, 8:00 AM EDT54Moderate10.9
Sun, 9:00 AM EDT54Moderate10.7
Sun, 10:00 AM EDT54Moderate10.920.1
Sun, 11:00 AM EDT54Moderate10.921.8
Sun, 12:00 PM EDT54Moderate10.524.2
Sun, 1:00 PM EDT54Moderate10.427.4
Sun, 2:00 PM EDT54Moderate10.131
Sun, 3:00 PM EDT53Moderate9.734.4
Sun, 4:00 PM EDT53Moderate937.6
Sun, 5:00 PM EDT52Moderate8.840.7
Sun, 6:00 PM EDT51Moderate8.542.8
Sun, 7:00 PM EDT48Good7.643.4
Sun, 8:00 PM EDT47Good8.143
Sun, 9:00 PM EDT46Good7.841.6
Sun, 10:00 PM EDT47Good9.339.5
Sun, 11:00 PM EDT49Good9.436.8
Mon, 12:00 AM EDT49Good9.534
Mon, 1:00 AM EDT51Moderate9.931.1
Mon, 2:00 AM EDT52Moderate10.228.1
Mon, 3:00 AM EDT52Moderate10.225.5
Mon, 4:00 AM EDT52Moderate1023.3
Mon, 5:00 AM EDT52Moderate9.521.5
Mon, 6:00 AM EDT52Moderate9.119.9
Mon, 7:00 AM EDT51Moderate8.518.9
Mon, 8:00 AM EDT48Good7.318.2
Mon, 9:00 AM EDT45Good7.117.7
Mon, 10:00 AM EDT44Good7.917.9
Mon, 11:00 AM EDT46Good919.3
Mon, 12:00 PM EDT48Good9.321.3
Mon, 1:00 PM EDT48Good8.923.9
Mon, 2:00 PM EDT48Good8.826.9
Mon, 3:00 PM EDT50Good9.730
Mon, 4:00 PM EDT52Moderate10.333.5
Mon, 5:00 PM EDT52Moderate9.837.4
Mon, 6:00 PM EDT52Moderate10.340.7
Mon, 7:00 PM EDT54Moderate11.542.2
Mon, 8:00 PM EDT56Moderate12.942.4
Mon, 9:00 PM EDT55Moderate10.842.3
Mon, 10:00 PM EDT52Moderate7.942.2
Mon, 11:00 PM EDT49Good7.641.4
Tue, 12:00 AM EDT47Good7.939.6
Tue, 1:00 AM EDT46Good8.136.7
Tue, 2:00 AM EDT47Good8.733.3
Tue, 3:00 AM EDT49Good9.330
Tue, 4:00 AM EDT51Moderate9.627.2
Tue, 5:00 AM EDT51Moderate9.424.2
Tue, 6:00 AM EDT51Moderate9.320.8
Tue, 7:00 AM EDT51Moderate9.317.6
Tue, 8:00 AM EDT51Moderate915.2
Tue, 9:00 AM EDT50Good8.813.8
Tue, 10:00 AM EDT50Good9.413.4
Tue, 11:00 AM EDT51Moderate9.614.1
Tue, 12:00 PM EDT51Moderate9.615.9
Tue, 1:00 PM EDT51Moderate9.218.5
Tue, 2:00 PM EDT51Moderate9.221.7
Tue, 3:00 PM EDT51Moderate9.725.6
Tue, 4:00 PM EDT51Moderate9.629.4
Tue, 5:00 PM EDT52Moderate9.733
Tue, 6:00 PM EDT52Moderate9.536.5
Tue, 7:00 PM EDT51Moderate8.539.2
Tue, 8:00 PM EDT51Moderate8.840
Tue, 9:00 PM EDT49Good7.739.8
Tue, 10:00 PM EDT48Good7.938.7
Tue, 11:00 PM EDT46Good7.337
Wed, 12:00 AM EDT42Good6.634.5
Wed, 1:00 AM EDT40Good6.731.6
Wed, 2:00 AM EDT40Good7.228.6

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 analysts have not drawn smoke over Pine Knot in satellite imagery today.

NOAA’s model forecasts near-surface smoke peaking at 1.5 µg/m³ around Tue, 1:00 AM EDT.

Smoke on the radar over Pine Knot

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 Pine KnotWarnings in McCreary CountyLive radar over Pine KnotKentucky 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.