Whats weather got to do with it?
A lot. Although ozone forms throughout the year, ozone production peaks during the warmest months of the year. The higher the sun is in the sky and the warmer the temperature, the faster ozone-producing chemical reactions occur. Wind direction is also important; when the wind blows across areas where many people live – and drive cars, and rely on power plants to generate a lot of electricity – the atmosphere becomes laden with the ingredients that produce ozone. When winds blow from less populated, less industrialized areas, much less ozone forms, no matter how sunny and hot it gets. Also, winds high above us can carry ozone and ozone-forming pollutants long distances. Not only does the poorly maintained car right in front of you foul the air you breathe, so do power plants hundreds of miles away. A “pool” of ozone and ozone-forming pollutants starts to build over the industrialized midwest. That pool then flows eastward with the wind, passing through the heavily populated corridor str
