Pennsylvania air quality

New Salem, Pennsylvania Air Quality

York County39.902, -76.789

The nearest monitor to New Salem, at York, 6 miles away, measured an index of 52 at Thu, 11:00 PM EDT, which is Moderate for fine particles (PM2.5). Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection forecasts Moderate for Susquehanna Valley today and Good tomorrow. NOAA’s analysts drew light wildfire smoke over the town today.

Measured now
52 · Moderate
Today
58 · Moderate
Tomorrow
26 · Good
Pollutant
PM2.5

Fine particles on the map

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

Forecast fine particulate matter from NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability over New Salem, Pennsylvania 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 New Salem right now. All Pennsylvania warnings.

Now

Moderate

Nearest monitor
York, 6 miles away (site 421330008)
Index measured
52 · Moderate
Measured at
Thu, 11:00 PM EDT
Fine particles
10.5 µg/m³
Ozone
45 ppb
Reporting area
Susquehanna Valley, PA, 9 miles away
Reported by
Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection
Area index
61 · Moderate

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

Today and tomorrow

Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection's own forecast for Susquehanna Valley, written by a forecaster rather than read off a model.

DayCategoryIndexPollutant
Thursday, October 1Moderate55PM2.5
TodayModerate58PM2.5
TomorrowGood26PM2.5
Sunday, October 4ModeratePM2.5

The forecaster’s discussion

Written by Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection for Susquehanna Valley and filed with AirNow.

Current Conditions: A dome of high pressure over the Atlantic Ocean is creating a southwest wind over Pennsylvania. This wind direction is transporting fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from wildfires burning across the southern United States. Therefore, today’s air quality is in the low-end moderate range. *** Friday’s Forecast: A cold front will track from west to east across the state, reaching Central Pennsylvania by midday and southeastern Pennsylvania by the evening. Showers are expected at times, and a few thunderstorms cannot be ruled out. Air quality will be moderate on Friday as southwest winds transport PM2.5 into the region before the late-afternoon rain arrives and cleans things out. *** Extended Forecast: Behind Friday’s cold front, an area of high pressure will bring dry air, quiet weather, and a fresh northerly wind Saturday. This will create good air quality. On Sunday, another weak disturbance will approach, and a southwest wind will return. The shift in wind direction may transport low-end moderate PM2.5 values back into the region. However, this disturbance may also bring rain showers, which could have a cleaning effect on air quality. Therefore, the confidence in Sunday’s forecast is currently low, but should improve in the next few days as forecast guidance comes into consensus. On Monday, a new cold front will bring the return of good air quality with dry conditions. – Curtis

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 Fri, 4:00 AM EDT, from the run issued Thu, 11:00 PM EDT. This is a model, not a measurement.

HourIndexCategoryPM2.5Ozone
Fri, 12:00 AM EDT54Moderate11.238.1
Fri, 1:00 AM EDT55Moderate11.535.6
Fri, 2:00 AM EDT54Moderate10.632.8
Fri, 3:00 AM EDT55Moderate1229.8
Fri, 4:00 AM EDT56Moderate12.226.5
Fri, 5:00 AM EDT56Moderate11.823.1
Fri, 6:00 AM EDT55Moderate11.220.5
Fri, 7:00 AM EDT55Moderate11.618.3
Fri, 8:00 AM EDT54Moderate8.816.5
Fri, 9:00 AM EDT53Moderate8.816
Fri, 10:00 AM EDT53Moderate10.916.9
Fri, 11:00 AM EDT53Moderate10.818.9
Fri, 12:00 PM EDT54Moderate10.722.1
Fri, 1:00 PM EDT54Moderate11.626
Fri, 2:00 PM EDT55Moderate1229.7
Fri, 3:00 PM EDT56Moderate13.233.9
Fri, 4:00 PM EDT56Moderate1237.6
Fri, 5:00 PM EDT55Moderate9.640.3
Fri, 6:00 PM EDT54Moderate9.941.4
Fri, 7:00 PM EDT43Good5.240.4
Fri, 8:00 PM EDT34Good3.837.8
Fri, 9:00 PM EDT31Good4.834.7
Fri, 10:00 PM EDT29Good4.131.7
Fri, 11:00 PM EDT26Good3.928.4
Sat, 12:00 AM EDT23Good2.925.5
Sat, 1:00 AM EDT21Good3.323.2
Sat, 2:00 AM EDT21Good4.322
Sat, 3:00 AM EDT26Good5.721.8
Sat, 4:00 AM EDT29Good5.822.1
Sat, 5:00 AM EDT31Good5.922
Sat, 6:00 AM EDT32Good621.5
Sat, 7:00 AM EDT29Good520.8
Sat, 8:00 AM EDT24Good3.420
Sat, 9:00 AM EDT18Good2.219.7
Sat, 10:00 AM EDT18Good2.819.2
Sat, 11:00 AM EDT17Good2.719
Sat, 12:00 PM EDT18Good2.719.1
Sat, 1:00 PM EDT18Good3.120
Sat, 2:00 PM EDT19Good2.621.5
Sat, 3:00 PM EDT21Good2.623.5
Sat, 4:00 PM EDT23Good2.825.5
Sat, 5:00 PM EDT24Good2.827
Sat, 6:00 PM EDT26Good328.2
Sat, 7:00 PM EDT26Good3.228.9
Sat, 8:00 PM EDT26Good628.7
Sat, 9:00 PM EDT29Good6.128.4
Sat, 10:00 PM EDT31Good627.6
Sat, 11:00 PM EDT34Good6.625.8
Sun, 12:00 AM EDT34Good6.223.5
Sun, 1:00 AM EDT38Good7.621.8
Sun, 2:00 AM EDT41Good8.119.8
Sun, 3:00 AM EDT49Good10.218.4
Sun, 4:00 AM EDT46Good7.917.9
Sun, 5:00 AM EDT41Good6.516.8
Sun, 6:00 AM EDT34Good5.115.9
Sun, 7:00 AM EDT28Good4.115.8
Sun, 8:00 AM EDT22Good2.716.5

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 light smoke over New Salem in satellite imagery today (Thu, 4:10 PM EDT to Thu, 7:30 PM EDT). That is smoke seen from above; it is not always smoke at ground level.

NOAA’s model forecasts near-surface smoke peaking at 2.4 µg/m³ around Fri, 12:00 PM EDT.

Smoke on the radar over New Salem

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 New SalemWarnings in York CountyLive radar over New SalemPennsylvania 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.