Smoke From Canadian Wildfires Drifted Over 1,600 Miles Into the U.S.
Published Jun 10 2015 09:36 AM EDT
weather.com
Satellite-derived analysis of smoke concentration on Wednesday, June 10, 2015. Heaviest smoke concentrations (mainly aloft), denoted by red contours. (NOAA-OSPO)
Have you noticed a hazy sky in parts of the Midwest and East the past few days? You can blame Canada.
Smoke from dozens of large Canadian wildfires has been blown into parts of the U.S. For the most part, the smoke is lofted in the upper atmosphere, so you probably won't smell it, but you can see it in the form of haze over the area, as well as spectacularly-colored sunrises and sunsets.
The fires are scattered from Manitoba to Canada's Northwest Territory. Fifty active wildfires were burning in Saskatchewan alone, Tuesday, some requiring evacuations, according to a CBC report.
Northwest winds aloft spread the Canadian smoke plumes as far south and east as the Ohio Valley by Tuesday morning, then into the Appalachians and Mid-Atlantic states, at least 1,600 miles southeast of the most dense concentration of Canadian wildfires.
Visible satellite depicting lofted smoke (light milky gray texture most distinct in western Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin) and approximate large Canadian wildfire locations as of Tuesday morning, June 9, 2015. Upper-level winds steering lofted smoke into the Upper Midwest highlighted in second frame of animation. (Fire locations: NWS-OSPO)
The smoke was particularly dense Monday and early Tuesday over parts of northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and southeast Manitoba, according to a NOAA analysis.
High-resolution satellite imagery from NASA's Terra satellite Monday highlighted this dense smoke plume over northern Minnesota, southwest Ontario and southern Manitoba.
ESPN reported there was some concern about air quality prior to Monday's Women's World Cup game in Winnipeg, but the lofted smoke did not appear to affect the players.
The smoke-filled skies could also be seen from the window seat of flights into the Midwest, including one approaching Chicago Tuesday morning.
By late Tuesday and Wednesday, a NOAA-OSPO analysis found "heavy" smoke - again, mainly aloft - from the Arrowhead of Minnesota to southern New Jersey and Delaware, a roughly 1,000-mile long swath.
Smoke from Canadian wildfires apparently inhibiting cumulus cloud formation. G-14 loop: rammb.cira.colostate.edu/dev/lindsey/lo…
The red, orange and yellow hues of the sun are common with the sun low on the horizon. With more atmosphere to travel through, the shorter wavelength, higher energy blue and green waves of visible light are scattered by air molecules, leaving the familiar red, orange and yellow sunrises and sunsets.
No comments:
Post a Comment