Haze in Lake Tahoe Basin coming mostly from dust over the playas, some smoke

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The haze in the Lake Tahoe Basin Friday is from a few different sources, but the majority of it is caused by dust that had been kicked up over the playas yesterday evening due to thunderstorm outflows. The National Weather Service (NWS) in Reno said there was just enough low-level airflow to allow that dust to sneak into the Lake Tahoe Basin.

NWS Reno said Washoe County Air Quality tested the air in the Truckee Meadows and about 70 percent of the particulate matter was attributed to dust, and about 30 percent a mixture of smoke that went aloft from the Pika Fire near Yosemite, possible smoke from a prescribed burn in the Stanislaus National Forest, and maybe even a bit from wildfires in Oregon.

When the Zephyrs pick up this afternoon most of that haze should move on out of the Basin.

Some air quality sensors near Gardnerville showed a short spike in bad quality, but most of the region is in the "green" AQI, resulting in good air quality though it looks worse.