RENO PROBERT: If you’re wondering whether it’ll still be smoky this weekend … An interactive tool can help forecast smoke throughout the Northwest. It’s part of an ongoing air quality project. N-W–P-B’s senior environmental correspondent Courtney Flatt explains.

COURTNEY FLATT: An interactive map from Washington State University predicts air quality conditions over a three-day period. It’s an update to a long-term air quality project. The tool pulls data from satellites, meteorologists and local emissions reports. 

The interactive map can show where current wildfires are burning. It can also display weather conditions. 

Jun [JUNE] Meng [Mehn] is an assistant professor at W-S-U. He says something national models might not consider is …

MENG: “ We characterize the vegetation type in our region in more detail because different trees will emit different things.” (0:07)

FLATT: Meng [Mehn] says the tool doesn’t work well on cell phones – because of the many pop-up options. But he hopes citizen scientists could use it to figure out long-term air quality trends in their area.

I’m Courtney Flatt.