Minnesota air quality

Aurora, Minnesota Air Quality

Saint Louis County47.530, -92.237

The nearest monitor to Aurora, at Virginia, 14 miles away, measured an index of 8 at Mon, 3:00 PM CDT, which is Good for fine particles (PM2.5). Minnesota Pollution Control Agency forecasts Good for North Central Minnesota today and Good tomorrow.

Measured now
8 · Good
Today
26 · Good
Tomorrow
28 · Good
Pollutant
PM2.5

Fine particles on the map

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

Forecast fine particulate matter from NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability over Aurora, Minnesota 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 Aurora right now. All Minnesota warnings.

Now

Good

Nearest monitor
Virginia, 14 miles away (site 271377001)
Index measured
8 · Good
Measured at
Mon, 3:00 PM CDT
Fine particles
1.4 µg/m³
Reporting area
North Central Minnesota, MN, 45 miles away
Reported by
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Area index
28 · Good

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

Today and tomorrow

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's own forecast for North Central Minnesota, written by a forecaster rather than read off a model.

DayCategoryIndexPollutant
TodayGood26Ozone
TomorrowGood28Ozone
Wednesday, September 23GoodOzone
Thursday, September 24GoodOzone

The forecaster’s discussion

Written by Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for North Central Minnesota and filed with AirNow.

High pressure centered over the Great Lakes will continue to bring cool temperatures and relatively calm winds to all of Minnesota, leading to continued Green (good) AQI statewide through midweek.

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 29, Good, around Thu, 6:00 AM CDT, from the run issued Mon, 7:00 AM CDT. This is a model, not a measurement.

HourIndexCategoryPM2.5Ozone
Mon, 9:00 AM CDT2Good0.5
Mon, 10:00 AM CDT1Good0.2
Mon, 11:00 AM CDT1Good0.3
Mon, 12:00 PM CDT2Good0.3
Mon, 1:00 PM CDT3Good0.9
Mon, 2:00 PM CDT2Good0.2
Mon, 3:00 PM CDT19Good0.421
Mon, 4:00 PM CDT20Good1.122.7
Mon, 5:00 PM CDT22Good1.424.3
Mon, 6:00 PM CDT23Good1.825.6
Mon, 7:00 PM CDT24Good0.826.4
Mon, 8:00 PM CDT24Good0.426.6
Mon, 9:00 PM CDT24Good0.126
Mon, 10:00 PM CDT23Good0.225
Mon, 11:00 PM CDT21Good0.523.9
Tue, 12:00 AM CDT20Good0.522.4
Tue, 1:00 AM CDT19Good0.220.8
Tue, 2:00 AM CDT18Good0.219.1
Tue, 3:00 AM CDT16Good0.317.5
Tue, 4:00 AM CDT15Good0.416.5
Tue, 5:00 AM CDT14Good0.415.9
Tue, 6:00 AM CDT14Good0.515.5
Tue, 7:00 AM CDT14Good0.415.3
Tue, 8:00 AM CDT14Good0.415.3
Tue, 9:00 AM CDT14Good0.415.7
Tue, 10:00 AM CDT15Good0.216.7
Tue, 11:00 AM CDT17Good0.118.2
Tue, 12:00 PM CDT18Good0.219.9
Tue, 1:00 PM CDT19Good0.821.8
Tue, 2:00 PM CDT21Good1.223.8
Tue, 3:00 PM CDT23Good125.8
Tue, 4:00 PM CDT25Good0.327.9
Tue, 5:00 PM CDT27Good0.229.6
Tue, 6:00 PM CDT28Good0.730.6
Tue, 7:00 PM CDT28Good0.830.9
Tue, 8:00 PM CDT28Good0.530.3
Tue, 9:00 PM CDT27Good0.429
Tue, 10:00 PM CDT25Good0.227.4
Tue, 11:00 PM CDT23Good0.425.8
Wed, 12:00 AM CDT22Good0.124.1
Wed, 1:00 AM CDT20Good0.222.5
Wed, 2:00 AM CDT19Good0.221
Wed, 3:00 AM CDT18Good0.319.6
Wed, 4:00 AM CDT17Good0.518.7
Wed, 5:00 AM CDT17Good0.918.3
Wed, 6:00 AM CDT16Good1.217.6
Wed, 7:00 AM CDT15Good0.216.9
Wed, 8:00 AM CDT15Good0.516.1
Wed, 9:00 AM CDT14Good0.515.7
Wed, 10:00 AM CDT15Good0.416.2
Wed, 11:00 AM CDT16Good0.517.2
Wed, 12:00 PM CDT17Good0.418.5
Wed, 1:00 PM CDT19Good0.320.1
Wed, 2:00 PM CDT19Good0.422
Wed, 3:00 PM CDT21Good123.9
Wed, 4:00 PM CDT23Good0.625.9
Wed, 5:00 PM CDT25Good1.927.4
Wed, 6:00 PM CDT26Good2.928
Wed, 7:00 PM CDT26Good228.3
Wed, 8:00 PM CDT26Good2.628
Wed, 9:00 PM CDT25Good2.927.3
Wed, 10:00 PM CDT24Good2.226.6
Wed, 11:00 PM CDT23Good1.725.9
Thu, 12:00 AM CDT23Good225.2
Thu, 1:00 AM CDT22Good3.224.4
Thu, 2:00 AM CDT21Good3.723.7
Thu, 3:00 AM CDT21Good4.223.1
Thu, 4:00 AM CDT24Good4.922.7
Thu, 5:00 AM CDT25Good4.822.3
Thu, 6:00 AM CDT29Good5.921.9
Thu, 7:00 AM CDT28Good5.121.6

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 Aurora 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 Aurora

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 AuroraWarnings in Saint Louis CountyLive radar over AuroraMinnesota 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.