Canadian smoke still lingering in the air across the state

Air quality readings early Tuesday were in the “red” and “purple” categories — meaning “unhealthy” and “very unhealthy” — across a wide portion Minnesota.

The additional wave of smoke from major wildfires across Manitoba and Saskatchewan was sweeping across Minnesota on northerly winds behind the cold front that triggered showers and storms in the region on Monday.

Rain was continuing for parts of Minnesota on Tuesday. Minnesota Pollution Control Agency forecasters said the rain had the potential to help clean the air, but was not expected to altogether eliminate poor air quality.

The MPCA issued an air quality alert for all of Minnesota. The alert runs until noon on Wednesday. The affected area includes all of Minnesota and the tribal nations of Upper Sioux, Mille Lacs, Prairie Island, Leech Lake, Red Lake, Grand Portage, and Fond du Lac.

Fine particle levels were expected to reach the following levels:

Northwest Minnesota — maroon category, hazardous for everyone

North central Minnesota — purple category, very unhealthy for everyone

Central and northeast Minnesota — red category, unhealthy for everyone  

Southwest and southeast Minnesota — orange category, unhealthy for sensitive groups

The MPCA said forecast models indicate the smoke may stay near, or north of, the Canadian border later this week.