High Pressure Podcast

In recognition of EPA's "Air Quality Awareness Week", Sonoma Tech meteorologists have a three-part discussion on smoke forecasting. The first installment focuses on first-hand stories and experiences in forecasting wildfire smoke.

On April 9th, 2021, the La Soufrière volcano began to erupt on the island of St. Vincent. Sonoma Tech meteorologists discuss how the volcano is impacting air quality in the Caribbean and globally. 

Why does smoke turn the sky red? What causes air pollution? These were some of the questions Bay Area students asked the High Pressure Podcast during an October episode of #SonomaKidsAsk on 91.3 FM. This segment's primary goal is to provide an additional science lesson, at a time when distance and modified learning have impacted children and teachers alike.

It's an end of summer tradition, where Nevada's Black Rock Desert transforms into a thriving art and culture hub. But "Burning Man" is also known for producing poor air quality. Meteorologists Patrick Zahn, Hilary Minor, Jeff Beamish, and Marcus Hylton examine the health effect "Burning Man" has on its participants, and ways people attending can protect themselves from harmful particulate matter.

If it's summer, it's peak time for ground-level ozone. Meteorologists Patrick Zahn, Jeff Beamish, and Marcus Hylton discuss how ozone forms, why it peaks in summer, and ways Sonoma Technology forecasts ozone.

On May 16, 2019, a severe dust event generated Unhealthy air quality in Imperial Valley, California. In the debut episode of the High Pressure Podcast, meteorologists Patrick Zahn and Jeff Beamish analyze the weather and air quality conditions that triggered this event.