July 15 Wildfire smoke by Mackinac Bridge Authority

Michigan had over twenty days of smoke-induced air quality advisories in 2025, up from zero in 2024. Michigan Storm Chasers informs us that zero is not on the table for 2026 in the excellent Michigan air quality forecast for today on their Facebook page:

Our air quality begins to dip across the majority of the state as we head into the mid-afternoon hours today, July 15th, 2026. By sunset tonight, nearly the entire state will see 150+ μg/m³ AQI concentration, which translates to very unhealthy on the air quality index. Overnight, those winds out of the northwest do not stop, bumping parts of our area into the hazardous to everyone category at 250.5-500 μg/m³ AQI concentration if recent short-term model trends are correct.

Dangerous air quality levels like these are rare, so please take your respiratory health very seriously. Smoke concerns mixed with the already excessive heat concerns both today and tomorrow will also be a factor for higher mortality rates amongst all age/health groups, per research collected by the National Library of Medicine (NLM). All data shown is for fine particulate matter (PM2.5).

For sure follow Michigan Storm Chasers on Facebook and the MiStormChasers YouTube channel that often includes live reporting on Michigan weather events. You can also check out the smoke tag on Michigan in Pictures for a reminder of what last summer’s wildfire smoke was like.

The top pic from the Mackinac Bridge Authority webcam is a view looking north from Mackinaw City while the other is looking south across the Mighty Mac from St. Ignace.

Livestream from the Riviera Motel in Mackinaw City

Here’s what the webcam view looked like when I posted this…