FALSE ALARM: Air Quality Error Has Hudson Valley in Frenzy

It's been kind of a wacky summer when you take a step back and look at it. We've been dealing with air quality warnings due to the Canadian wildfires for several months, have had flash flooding that has taken a major toll on some of our roadways, super hot temperatures for quite some time, and then last week's official heat wave.

Something that was being shared in the area last Thursday evening had a lot of people concerned, and in somewhat of a frenzy.

Air Quality Predictions in the High Hundreds Thursday Evening

I was doing my after-dinner scrolling when I noticed someone post a screenshot in a local social media group asking about predicted air quality numbers for Friday. Initially, I just scrolled right past it, admiringly thinking 'this again' - but when I saw the second post in a different group asking the same thing, I went back for another look.

We just saw a new air quality alert that’s intense and just in our region. Anybody know what’s going on? Was there a local fire?

Naturally, a great deal of comments followed this question in the 'Bad Moms Hudson Valley' group, with someone commenting that a reading in New Windsor on Thursday evening read 407.

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A similar post in 'Dutchess County Moms' asking about the increased numbers also sparked a lot of conversation, with someone sharing a screenshot of a reading for Poughkeepsie just before 10 pm Thursday night of 358-hazardous.

Ben Noll Weather Informs Hudson Valley of 'Erroneous' Report

Thankfully, here in the Hudson Valley, we're lucky enough to be blessed with the ultimate weather guru, Ben Noll, who is typically spot-on with his predictions (especially when it comes to closings and delays in the winter).

Ben quickly joined the conversation sharing the following with his accounts to clear up any worries about the elevated numbers:

Apparently, the cause of the confusion was bad data that triggered those numbers, and when all was said and done, Friday's weather, and air quality, weren't so bad after all.