Season's first ozone alert doesn't bode too ill

The bad news first: The sun burned so hot and pollution hung in the air so long Thursday that for the first time this season, the young, old and weak of lungs were warned to take it easy.

But here is the good news: Meteorologists have less cause to issue such warnings these days. In fact, they wonder whether the Triangle ever again will see the more dire warning -- a Code Red, when a dense haze makes it hard for anyone to breathe. The last one was in 2003.

Actually, state meteorologists issued their first ozone alert of the season Wednesday -- an orange one, which warns the fragile to stay inside and marathon runners to take a break. But it was a false alarm; a surprise midday shower washed away enough pollution to keep the Triangle out of danger.

Thursday was the real deal. It was hot enough -- 95 degrees at Raleigh-Durham International Airport -- and clouds and breeze scarce enough to warrant the orange alert.

From the 28th floor of the BB&T building in downtown Raleigh, haze camouflaged the Shearon Harris nuclear plant, typically visible from the Smith Moore law offices.

"We get to pretend we're in the Smokies," said Matt Cunningham, a lawyer in the firm. "You can just tell yourself it's a gentle morning mist."

Ozone pollution was at its worst in the Triangle in the late 1990s. The number of alerts each warm season has plummeted since, thanks to tightened emissions standards, said Nick Witcraft, meteorologist at the state Division of Air Quality.

Aside from better environmental controls, the best safeguard against smog is rain. Meteorologists have predicted a blockbuster hurricane season, but that's not a guarantee it will rain on the Triangle, said Jeff Orrock at the National Weather Service in Raleigh.

There is plenty of rain on the way this weekend, though, so breathe easily.