* WHAT. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has issued an Air Quality Alert for fine particles pollution. The Air Quality Index (AQI) is expected to reach the Orange or Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups category. * WHERE. All of Minnesota. * WHEN. From 11 PM CDT this evening to 11 PM CDT Sunday. * IMPACTS. Sensitive groups, such as people with lung disease (including asthma), heart disease, and children and older adults, may experience health effects. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS. Heavy surface Canadian wildfire smoke will follow a cold front into and across Minnesota from west to east from late Saturday night into Sunday morning and afternoon, and then clear out from west to east across the state from Sunday afternoon through Sunday evening. Some areas may only see a few hours of alert-level smoke concentrations due to the relatively fast movement of the north-south band of smoke. The air quality alert may need to be extended into Monday if an additional batch of heavy smoke materializes from Manitoba and Saskatchewan wildfires and then is transported into and across Minnesota from north to south, but confidence for this outcome is currently low to medium.
