The 2018 Wildfire Season has been an active and devastating one, with California experiencing its largest wildfire in state history, and across the nation, more than 6 million acres already burned this year.
And the smoke from these wildfires are only adding insult to injury, as smoke from wilfires in the U.S. and Canada, have spread far and wide, leading to hazy skies and air quality issues from coast to coast.
While typically peaking in August, according the National Interagency Fire Center and its Wildfire Season Outlook, the wildfire potential will remain above normal for a large portion of the western United States through September due mainly to dry, parched grass fuels, according to Bryan Henry of the NIFC.
To the produce the Wildfire Outlook, meteorologists with the NIFC and its Predictive Services take into account a number of factors, including El Nino Southern Oscillation – which are the sea surface temperature anomalies west of South America – western weather patterns, and drought. According to Henry, pre-existing drought is a very significant factor.
While the fire season is still under way, fall is expected to bring cooler weather and longer nights, limiting the fire potential, so some natural fire relief may be just around the corner.
For WeatherNation, I am Meteorologist Marcus Walter