Smoke Plumes From Devastating California Wildfires May Extend To New England
BOSTON (CBS) -- I'm sure you have all been following those horrible fires out in California. The images out of places like Paradise and Malibu have been unreal. Reports on Monday have more than 6,000 homes destroyed and hundreds of folks unaccounted for.
Unfortunately wildfires are a part of life out in Southern California. The area is so dry, the smallest spark can start a raging inferno. . . and this time of year, the Santa Ana winds, which howl through the mountains and into the Coastal Plain, keep the fires moving at a pace firefighters can't keep up with.
The fires can even be seen on our satellite imagery. . . giant plumes of smoke rising from the West Coast and then getting picked up by the Jetstream and carried east.
You may have read that some of the smoke from the fires would be visible over New England today.
Given the current configuration of the upper level winds over the United States, theoretically this is not impossible. However, the smoke has a long way to travel, and it is also passing through a storm system in the Midwest.
So it would likely be hard to differentiate between some high clouds arriving today from the impending Tuesday storm and some potential smoke (haze) mixed in from the California fires. Either way, it gives you an idea of just how massive those fires are and a reminder to keep those victims and firefighters in your hearts and minds this week as they continue to battle and recover out west.
Follow Terry on Twitter @TerryWBZ
