Air Quality Alert Issued For Mercer County This Weekend

MERCER COUNTY, NJ — The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has issued a code orange air quality alert Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Mercer County. A code orange air quality alert means that air pollution concentrations within the region may become unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Sensitive groups include children, people suffering from asthma, heart disease or other lung diseases, and the elderly. The effects of air pollution can be minimized by avoiding strenuous activity or exercise outdoors.

“Little relief from elevated ozone levels is expected on Sunday due to breezy southwesterly winds, high temperatures in the upper-90s, and partly sunny skies ahead of an approaching cold front. As a result, ozone levels will again linger in the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (USG) statewide with the exception of coastal southern New Jersey,” the NJDEP said.

The air quality alert comes as New Jersey grapples with a heatwave.

“Showers and thunderstorms are expected Monday as a cold front pushes through the region, providing some relief from hot temperatures and elevated ozone levels,” the NJDEP said.

Here’s the latest forecast for Mercer County, according to the National Weather Service:

• Friday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
• Saturday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 5pm. Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 98. Heat index values as high as 104. Southwest wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 8 p.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. South wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
• Sunday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 5 p.m. Partly sunny and hot, with a high near 98. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Sunday night showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. Patchy fog after 2 a.m. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

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