What lovely *cacchchhh* weather we're having

The miserable air quality I mentioned earlier has somehow gotten worse. At 3pm, the AQI hit 817 in the northern suburb of Northbrook, Ill.:

I love that the tongue of "hazardous" 300+ PM2.5 AQI seems to be poking the lakefront and city while just a few kilometers away, Joliet is "moderate" bordering on "unhealthy for sensitve groups." Officially at Inner Drive Technology World HQ, the AQI is 477 (reported at Mayfair, Chicago), and the dog is extremely bored. I took her for a slow, 25-minute walk after lunch, allowing her to sniff whatever she wanted, but wouldn't you know it, smart dogs want more than that.

The local Fox affilliate's meterologist says this is the "worst air quality on record" in the city, while conceding that records only go back three years.

Tomorrow's forecast shows particulate matter dropping throughout the day while ozone rises, which is always fun. By Saturday, though, the smoke is expected to move east and out of the area. Meanwhile, everything smells and tastes like rancid smoke, and I can't see the harbor. At least GOES-East is back up, showing us clearly that there isn't a cloud in the sky over the city of Chicago at the moment: