With the heat index expected to reach into the triple digits today, the threat of increased ozone levels in the atmosphere continues to be present.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources Ambient Air Monitoring Unit Leader Sean Fitzsimmons says scientists can forecast ozone levels just like any other weather event, but it’s a lot more difficult to do so. “NOAA has an air quality website where they forecast ozone levels. You can visit that site and see a forecast for the day. The science is really difficult and we don’t find those forecasts particularly useful in predicting when ozone exceedances will occur, but they do give us an idea of areas in the state where ozone levels may be higher or lower based on that map.”

Fitzsimmons says the longer a heat wave lasts, and the hotter the temperatures stay overnight, allows more ozone to accumulate and stay in the atmosphere for an extended period of time. We’ll wrap up our conversation with him today on Let’s Talk Guthrie County. It airs during the 9 a.m., noon and 5 p.m. hours on K107.9 and www.raccoonvalleyradio.com.