Maryland air quality

Dorchester County, Maryland Air Quality

Dorchester County38.423, -76.083

The nearest monitor to Dorchester County, at Blackwater NWR, 2 miles away, measured an index of 29 at Tue, 10:00 AM EDT, which is Good for ground-level ozone. Maryland Department of the Environment forecasts Good for Lower Eastern Shore today and Good tomorrow.

Measured now
29 · Good
Today
17 · Good
Tomorrow
17 · Good
Pollutant
Ozone

Fine particles on the map

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

Forecast fine particulate matter from NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability over Dorchester County, Maryland 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 Dorchester County right now. All Maryland warnings.

Now

Good

Nearest monitor
Blackwater NWR, 2 miles away (site 240199991)
Index measured
29 · Good
Measured at
Tue, 10:00 AM EDT
Reporting area
Lower Eastern Shore, MD, 19 miles away
Reported by
Maryland Department of the Environment
Area index
30 · Good

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

Today and tomorrow

Maryland Department of the Environment's own forecast for Lower Eastern Shore, written by a forecaster rather than read off a model.

DayCategoryIndexPollutant
TodayGood17PM2.5
TomorrowGood17PM2.5
Thursday, September 24Good17PM2.5
Friday, September 25Good22PM2.5

The forecaster’s discussion

Written by Maryland Department of the Environment for Lower Eastern Shore and filed with AirNow.

Pristine air quality conditions are expected for the next few days as strong northeasterly winds tap into clean maritime air, with periods of unsettled weather further scouring pollutants. Good AQI is expected through at least Thursday. For the latest air quality information, please visit our website here. -MDE

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 30, Good, around Fri, 12:00 AM EDT, from the run issued Tue, 2:00 AM EDT. This is a model, not a measurement.

HourIndexCategoryPM2.5Ozone
Tue, 4:00 AM EDT2Good0.5
Tue, 5:00 AM EDT2Good0.4
Tue, 6:00 AM EDT2Good0.3
Tue, 7:00 AM EDT1Good0.2
Tue, 8:00 AM EDT1Good0.1
Tue, 9:00 AM EDT1Good0.1
Tue, 10:00 AM EDT29Good0.331.4
Tue, 11:00 AM EDT28Good0.530.8
Tue, 12:00 PM EDT28Good0.730.6
Tue, 1:00 PM EDT28Good0.430.4
Tue, 2:00 PM EDT28Good1.530.1
Tue, 3:00 PM EDT26Good0.328.8
Tue, 4:00 PM EDT25Good0.327.7
Tue, 5:00 PM EDT24Good0.526.7
Tue, 6:00 PM EDT23Good0.225.8
Tue, 7:00 PM EDT23Good0.325
Tue, 8:00 PM EDT22Good0.224.2
Tue, 9:00 PM EDT22Good1.124.2
Tue, 10:00 PM EDT22Good1.924.4
Tue, 11:00 PM EDT22Good2.224.4
Wed, 12:00 AM EDT22Good1.224.1
Wed, 1:00 AM EDT21Good124
Wed, 2:00 AM EDT22Good0.724.4
Wed, 3:00 AM EDT22Good0.724.7
Wed, 4:00 AM EDT23Good0.625
Wed, 5:00 AM EDT22Good0.724.4
Wed, 6:00 AM EDT21Good0.624
Wed, 7:00 AM EDT21Good0.724
Wed, 8:00 AM EDT22Good0.524.2
Wed, 9:00 AM EDT22Good0.424.7
Wed, 10:00 AM EDT22Good0.324.9
Wed, 11:00 AM EDT23Good0.525.1
Wed, 12:00 PM EDT23Good0.525.2
Wed, 1:00 PM EDT23Good0.325.6
Wed, 2:00 PM EDT23Good0.626
Wed, 3:00 PM EDT23Good0.425.9
Wed, 4:00 PM EDT23Good0.425.8
Wed, 5:00 PM EDT23Good0.425.3
Wed, 6:00 PM EDT23Good0.425.1
Wed, 7:00 PM EDT23Good0.325.5
Wed, 8:00 PM EDT23Good0.225.7
Wed, 9:00 PM EDT23Good1.625.4
Wed, 10:00 PM EDT22Good1.924.9
Wed, 11:00 PM EDT22Good1.524.6
Thu, 12:00 AM EDT22Good0.824.8
Thu, 1:00 AM EDT23Good0.825.3
Thu, 2:00 AM EDT23Good0.725.7
Thu, 3:00 AM EDT23Good0.725.5
Thu, 4:00 AM EDT23Good0.725.6
Thu, 5:00 AM EDT24Good0.726.6
Thu, 6:00 AM EDT25Good0.427.2
Thu, 7:00 AM EDT25Good0.427.2
Thu, 8:00 AM EDT24Good0.426.8
Thu, 9:00 AM EDT24Good0.626.1
Thu, 10:00 AM EDT22Good0.625
Thu, 11:00 AM EDT22Good0.624.4
Thu, 12:00 PM EDT21Good0.823.6
Thu, 1:00 PM EDT20Good0.522.5
Thu, 2:00 PM EDT19Good0.221.8
Thu, 3:00 PM EDT20Good022.3
Thu, 4:00 PM EDT21Good0.123
Thu, 5:00 PM EDT21Good0.123.7
Thu, 6:00 PM EDT22Good024.8
Thu, 7:00 PM EDT24Good0.126.1
Thu, 8:00 PM EDT25Good0.927.5
Thu, 9:00 PM EDT26Good0.628.9
Thu, 10:00 PM EDT28Good2.230.6
Thu, 11:00 PM EDT29Good3.231.7
Fri, 12:00 AM EDT30Good5.232.2
Fri, 1:00 AM EDT30Good6.732.2
Fri, 2:00 AM EDT30Good5.732.4

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 Dorchester County in satellite imagery today.

NOAA’s model forecasts no measurable smoke near the ground here over the next two days.

Smoke on the radar over Dorchester County

What this means

Good

Air quality is satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk.

Who is affected
Nobody is expected to be affected.
What to do
It is a good day to be outside.
Index range
0 to 50

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 Dorchester CountyWarnings in Dorchester CountyLive radar over Dorchester CountyMaryland 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.