Air quality in Clallam County, WA

Includes Port Angeles · EPA monitor readings, 2021 to 2025 · 77,000 people

Clean most daysMostly summer smoke
Bad-air days a year
<1
day with an AQI over 100

3 bad-air days in 5 years of readings, 2021 to 2025. Clallam County is tied with 1 other Washington county for the 4th fewest bad-air days of the 29 with monitors.

0days unhealthy for everyoneAQI over 150, a year
35AQI on a typical dayGood: fine for everyone
Aug, Sep and Decworst monthsSmoke and particles in summer and fall
368worst day since 2016Sep 14, 2020, fine particles
How to read the AQIThe EPA's air score runs from 0 to 500. Higher is worse. Over 100 counts as a bad-air day.
Typical day 35 (Good)Worst day 368 (Hazardous)
Good0 to 50Moderate51 to 100Sensitive groups101 to 150Unhealthy151 to 200Very unhealthy201 to 300Hazardous301 to 500

When bad air happens in Clallam County

Average bad-air days in each month, from 10 years of daily readings since 2016. Most fall in August, September and December.

Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May0
Jun0
Jul0
Aug1.5
Sep1.0
Oct0
Nov0
Dec0.1
012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecSMOKE SEASON012JFMAMJJASONDSMOKE
Fine particles (smoke, soot)Ozone (smog)Bars stack in that order, from the bottom.
See the numbers by month
Average bad-air days a year in each month in Clallam County, from 10 years of daily readings
MonthOzoneFine particlesAll
January000
February000
March000
April000
May000
June000
July000
August01.51.5
September01.01.0
October000
November000
December00.10.1

The worst day since 2016 was September 14, 2020: AQI 368, from fine particles.

What causes it

The pollutant that pushed the AQI over 100 on each of the 26 bad-air days since 2016.

100%particles
100%Fine particles: smoke and soot

The rare bad days here are mostly fine-particle days in summer and fall, the months when wildfire smoke drives particle pollution.

CDC estimates by month, 2001 to 2022

The CDC's model counts bad-air days at the county's worst spot, from monitors and satellites. Particles (brown) fill the inside of the ring and ozone (blue) the outside.

JFMAMJJAugust: 0.3 smoky days a yearASeptember: 0.4 smoky days a yearSOctober: 0.0 smoky days a yearONovember: 0.0 smoky days a yearNDecember: 0.0 smoky days a yearDbad daysby month
See the numbers by month
CDC estimated bad-air days a year in each month in Clallam County, 2001 to 2022
MonthFine particlesOzone
January00
February00
March00
April00
May00
June00
July00
August0.30
September0.40
October00
November00
December00

What helps in Clallam County

Most bad days here are smoke and other fine particles. Filtering the air at home helps most.

Keep one room clean on smoky days

Shut the windows and run an air purifier sized for the room.

Choosing a purifier →

Upgrade the furnace filter

Use MERV 13 if your system can take it, and run the fan on smoky days.

Furnace filters →

Wear an N95 outside on smoky days

A well-fitted N95 helps. Cloth and surgical masks do little against smoke.

Wildfire smoke guide →

For today's reading and tomorrow's forecast, check AirNow by ZIP code. Its fire and smoke map adds smoke plumes.

Purifiers with a verified smoke rating

For a clean room on smoky days. Each has a smoke CADR tested by AHAM's independent program and is certified by California as a mechanical cleaner, so it makes no ozone.

Bedroom or small room

Levoit Vital 100S-P

143 smoke CADR

Everyday
up to 222 sq ft
Heavy smoke
up to 143 sq ft
Filters
about $40 a year

The cheapest unit we found with a verified smoke rating. Enough for a bedroom clean room.

$119.99 at Levoit
Best value for smoke

Levoit Vital 200S-P

250 smoke CADR

Everyday
up to 388 sq ft
Heavy smoke
up to 250 sq ft
Filters
about $50 a year

The most verified smoke cleaning per dollar of any qualifying model: 75% more than the 100S-P for $50 more.

$169.99 at Levoit
Living room or open floor

Levoit Core 600S-P

391 smoke CADR

Everyday
up to 606 sq ft
Heavy smoke
up to 391 sq ft
Filters
$60 to $120 a year

For a big room or a small apartment. Buy the LAP-C601S-WUS version, which CARB lists as mechanical.

$299.99 at Levoit

Why all 3 are Levoit: of the models we checked that pass both tests, these give the most verified smoke cleaning per dollar at each room size. Medify's MA-25 and MA-40 also pass but cost more for the same cleaning.

Ratings from the AHAM Verifide directory and CARB's certified list. Prices from Levoit's site, checked November 7, 2026; they change. We don't earn anything from these links. How to pick a purifier

Every year since 2000

Bad-air days each year. The striped part is days unhealthy for everyone, over AQI 150. The worst recent year was 2022, with 2 bad-air days.

05102000200520102015820202025051020002010820202025
Unhealthy for sensitive groups (101 to 150)Unhealthy or worse (over 150)
See the numbers by year
Bad-air days each year in Clallam County
YearBad-air daysOver 150
200000
200100
200210
200300
200400
200510
200610
200720
200800
200900
201000
201100
201200
201300
201410
201500
201600
201784
201885
201900
202076
202100
202220
202310
202400
202500

Clallam County and its neighbors

Bad-air days a year, 2021 to 2025. Washington counties with monitors averaged about 5 bad-air days a year, weighted by population.

Clallam County<1
Jefferson County<1

Nearest counties with a full report: Kitsap County, WA (1 bad-air day a year), Whatcom County, WA (2 bad-air days a year), Skagit County, WA (1 bad-air day a year).

Questions people ask about air in Clallam County

How often is the air bad in Clallam County?

From 2021 to 2025, monitors in Clallam County recorded about 1 bad-air day a year with an AQI above 100, which is unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. The worst year in that stretch was 2022, with 2 bad-air days.

What causes bad air in Clallam County?

The rare bad days here are mostly fine-particle days in summer and fall, the months when wildfire smoke drives particle pollution. Bad days cluster in August, September and December.

Where can I see today's air quality in Clallam County?

AirNow, run by the EPA and its partners, shows the current AQI and tomorrow's forecast for your ZIP code. Its fire and smoke map adds smoke plumes. On a typical day the AQI in Clallam County is about 35, which is good, fine for everyone. Check it most in August, September and December, when bad days here cluster.

About these numbers

Day counts come from the EPA's county air quality summaries, which take the worst reading across a county's monitors each day. Monitors here reported on about 365 days a year from 2021 to 2025. A county is large, and your street can be cleaner or worse. CDC's model, which estimates every county from monitors and satellites, gives the worst spot in Clallam County about 2 high-particle days and almost no high-ozone days a year from 2018 to 2022.

Sources: EPA AirData county AQI summaries (2000 to 2025) and daily county AQI (2016 to 2025); CDC Environmental Public Health Tracking Network modeled PM2.5 and ozone (2001 to 2022). Updated November 8, 2026.