Air quality advisories remain in effect Thursday for Anchorage, Eagle River and the Matanuska Valley as cold, dry weather persists and gusty winds kick up dust.
The National Weather Service issued a high wind warning for the Matanuska Valley for 3 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday. Winds, with gusts up to 70 and 80 mph, will only dry out the area more, said Michael Kutz, meteorologist with the weather service.
The weather service also issued a "red flag" warning for "critical fire weather conditions" in the Matanuska Valley and on the western Kenai Peninsula from 6 p.m. Thursday to midnight Friday.
"The winds are going to be the problem, just whistling through everywhere," Kutz said.
Increasing winds may drive air quality to "unhealthy to hazardous" levels, said an air quality advisory from the Matanuska-Sustina Borough.
In Anchorage, the Municipal Department of Health and Human Services kept Wednesday's air quality advisory in place.
The Air Quality Program recorded an air quality index value of 120 Thursday. Air quality index values between 101 and 150 are considered unhealthy for sensitive groups, said the Municipal Department of Health and Human Services. People with heart and lung ailments should avoid dusty roadways.
Air quality updates in Anchorage, Eagle River and Mat-Su are available at AnchorageAir.info or by calling the Air Quality Hotline at 343-4899.
Reach Tegan Hanlon at thanlon@adn.com or 257-4589.
By TEGAN HANLON