Pennsylvania: When Will the Smoke Go Away?

There's an unprecedented amount of smoke and haze across the northeastern United States right now, including Pennsylvania smoke.

Multiple states are under severe air quality warnings, including Pennsylvania. In fact, the game between the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies was postponed because of unsafe air quality, as pictured above.

So, what is causing all the smoke and smog? The main cause is the Canadian Wildfires. The smoke is coming down from Canada and has reached as far south as, yes, Philadelphia. Now, Pennsylvania is under a Code Red Air Quality Alert. According to the National Weather Service, that means air pollution concentrations within the region are unhealthy. Some people could experience mild health effects. Moreover, people with sensitive conditions could experience more serious health effects from the bad air quality.

The National Weather Service says that according to the wind trajectory, the smoke and haze will likely last for the next few days. But, the good news is that the strongest concentrations of smoke should start to dissipate this afternoon across Pennsylvania, according to the NWS. But, this evening, it could get more dense, so don't make outdoors plans just yet. In addition, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection tweeted out that, "The previously issued Air Quality Action Day for Thursday, June 8th is being upgraded to the Unhealthy category statewide. In addition, this alert has been extended to Friday, June 9th at 11:59 pm."

Everyone knows of the obvious places where you have to worry about experiencing an earthquake. But sometimes, there are less obvious spots, too. So, do we have any real risk of an earthquake in Pennsylvania?

A new study looks at the locations with the highest potential of earthquakes. A lot of them are in major cities. A few include Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Salt Lake City and Memphis. That's according to government research done by FEMA.

In case you were wondering, earthquakes are costly. That's not to shame the states that have the most earthquakes, of course. Hurricanes are costly, too. So, whether you live in California, where earthquakes are likely, or in other areas across America where hurricanes happen, chances are, your area is taking up funding to cover these disasters. As it turns out, southern California coastal counties and the Bay Area are the most costly when it comes to earthquake damage. "Los Angeles County with $2.68 billion in annualized losses is more than three times greater than the second highest county (Santa Clara, California)," the FEMA report states. "The counties containing the Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake, and Memphis metropolitan areas also have relatively high AELs."

Pennsylvania ranks No. 30 and No. 43, respectively, out of the states for the report's "Ranking of States by Annualized Earthquake Loss and Annualized Earthquake Loss Ratios (AELR)." When it comes to Pennsylvania's risk, an interactive map shows the state split between "low" and "very low" risk for an earthquake. The eastern part of the state is in the "low" range.

Find the interactive map via CNN below and see where your area lands. You might be surprised by some of the areas that actually have a fairly high risk for activity. The map was "derived in part from a US Geological Survey study that created earthquake models to help inform municipalities and insurance companies about such hazards," according to CNN.

While you might think of a handful of cities who are in danger of earthquakes, and those are on the West Coast, there is earthquake activity all around. "Although most economic loss is concentrated along the West Coast, the distribution of relative earthquake risk, as measured by the AELR, is much broader and reinforces the fact that earthquakes are a national problem," FEMA says. "Relatively high earthquake loss ratios are throughout the western and central United States (states within the NMSZ) and in the Charleston, South Carolina, area."

You've heard of the Big Four, right? In metal music. Anyway, the Big 55 are the cities that experience the most earthquake activity. "Fifty-five metropolitan areas, led by the Los Angeles (including Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Anaheim) and San Francisco (including San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley) Bay areas, account for 85% of the total AEL," FEMA says.

This is an interactive map of the United States showing each area's risk for earthquakes. You might be surprised by some of the areas that actually have a pretty high risk for activity. Click the link below to go to the interactive map via CNN.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/23/us/us-earthquake-risk-map-dg/index.html