UPDATED: Outer Banks under rare Code Orange air quality alert Thursday

UPDATED, Wednesday 6 p.m.: The North Carolina Division of Air Quality Forecast Center has issued a Code Orange air quality alert for all of northeastern North Carolina on Thursday, due to fine particulates in the atmosphere as smoke continues to drift into the region from wildfires out west.

Code Orange conditions mean children, active people, older adults, and those with heart or lung disease, like asthma, should limit prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors.

At least 80 active wildfires across 13 states have burned just over a million acres so far, with even more widespread fires in central Canada. The largest, the Bootleg Fire in Oregon, has burned more than 530 square miles of forest and grassland.

The fire is so extreme, it is creating its own weather, the New York Times reported.

Following a rainy start to the week and then rather comfortable temperatures for late-July, more summerlike conditions are forecast to return by this weekend.

National Weather Service forecast for Nags Head, as of Wednesday 6 p.m.:

Tonight
Mostly clear, with a low around 75. South wind 8 to 10 mph becoming west after midnight.
Thursday
Sunny, with a high near 85. North wind 10 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 17 mph.
Thursday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 72. Northeast wind 3 to 8 mph.
Friday
Sunny, with a high near 86. East wind 3 to 6 mph.
Friday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 73. South wind around 7 mph.
Saturday
Sunny, with a high near 87.
Saturday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 76.
Sunday
Sunny, with a high near 89.
Sunday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 76.
Monday
Sunny, with a high near 90.
Monday Night
A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 76. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Tuesday
A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Tuesday Night
A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 77. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 89.

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About Kari Pugh 1073 Articles
Kari Pugh is digital director for OBXToday.com, Beach 104, 99.1 The Sound, 94.5 WCMS and News Talk 92.3 WZPR. Reach her at kpugh@jammediallc.com