The National Weather Service Office in Rapid City placed the area west of the city under an Air Pollution Alert for this afternoon.
The Rapid City Air Quality Office recommends the elderly, young, and anyone with respiratory problems avoid excessive physical exertion and exposure to the outside air.
Rapid City National Weather Service March 24th, 2022
Westerly winds of 20 to 30mph and gusts up to 50mph are expected to blow and suspend fine dust in the air and creating poor air quality.
This alert runs from noon, local time until 8:00 pm this evening.
Voluntary actions to reduce dust pollution include, ceasing or reducing the manipulation of soil in construction, industrial, and agricultural activities, and increasing the use of pollution controls for soil stabilization, waste pits, stockpiles, and construction sites.
Rapid City National Weather Service March 24th, 2022
These winds will start to decrease for the west later tonight as the winds shift over the east on Friday. Air quality is expected to improve once winds start to decrease.
Besides air quality issues, fire weather issues will also become a concern. Fire Weather Watches are already posted for south-central and southeast, South Dakota for tomorrow. For the latest information on weather alerts, check out our Weather Alerts page.