VISIT: Meteorological Interpretation Blog

Fires have engulfed Southern California over the past few weeks, where another fire (i.e., the Hughes Fire) erupted just northwest of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. At the time of this blog entry (~22Z, 23 January 2025), the fire had scorched 10,000+ acres in Los Angeles and Ventura counties and was 24% contained. Dangerous fire Continue Reading

On the morning of 6 November 2024, the Mountain Fire erupted, and fueled by strong winds, the fire spread southwestward towards cities located along the California coastline. The GOES-18 GeoColor product (see below) observed the fire and the corresponding smoke plumes from ~18-21Z, 6 November 2024. The narrow, long, smoke plumes advected westward offshore and Continue Reading

The Park Fire in California initiated two weeks ago and portions of the fire perimeter are still ablaze at the time of this blog entry. As of 7 August 2024, the Park Fire has burned 420,000 plus acres and is only 34% percent contained (per InciWeb). The JPSS SNPP VIIRS Day Fire RGB and the Continue Reading

Over the past few weeks, fires have erupted and spewed high concentrations of smoke over western Canada and the United States. To exacerbate the situation, more fires initiated recently in the western U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Forecast Offices (WFO) highlighted the High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) – Smoke products on social media to warn Continue Reading

Another summer and another round of wildfires and smoke that inundate the Canadian provinces and territories. From 19-21Z, 17 July 2024, VIIRS GeoColor observed the smoke and fires extending from British Columbia to Hudson Bay. A daytime animation of VIIRS overpasses from SNPP, NOAA-20, and NOAA-21 can be seen below.   At ~09Z 18 July Continue Reading

Fires erupted over the Texas Panhandle during the last week of February 2024. The fires burned over 1+ million acres, where the Smokehouse Creek Fire became the largest fire in Texas state history. Videos of the fires and drone footage of the destruction were vast. Geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites captured the event over the course Continue Reading

Over the past week, fires were raging in the country of Bolivia. Numerous fires were observed by the GOES-16 geostationary satellite, and were spotted across the country. The largest fires were seen in central Bolivia, specifically located northwest of the city of Santa Cruz. On 22 October 2023, the GOES-16 ABI Day Fire RGB, which Continue Reading

Over the past week, the northeastern United States was inundated with smoke that was produced from fires raging in the Canadian province of Quebec. On the backside (i.e., west side) of a lingering upper-level low, wildfire smoke transported hundreds of miles southward and southeastward toward the northeastern U.S. New York City, NY, along with other cities in Continue Reading

So far in 2023, western Canada has been overwhelmed with wildfires and smoke, and within the last week new fires erupted in the eastern province of Nova Scotia. At the time of this blog entry, over 22,000 hectares (or 54,000+ acres) were burned in the province. A VIIRS Day Fire RGB animation of the Nova Scotian Continue Reading

The Swan Lake Fire, located in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, south of Anchorage, AK initiated in June 2019 due to lightning. Over the past few months, the fire has steadily grown, and as of 20 August 2019, more than 130,000 acres have burned. To get a close look at the fire refer to the following Continue Reading