It actually isn't that uncommon for smoke from wildfires to travel that far of a distance. There have been many occasions in the past when smoke from fires as far away as Canada or Mexico have caused hazy conditions in the Southeast. In a majority of these cases, the smoke was not dense enough to be smelled this far away. More prolific wildfires are more common west of the Rocky Mountains in the United States than they are in the Eastern United States, so North and Central Georgia doesn't see denser smoke (similar to what we have seen on recent occasions) as often as other areas of the country.

Fire weather is the use of meteorological parameters such as relative humidity, wind speed and direction, cloud cover, mixing heights, and soil moisture to determine whether conditions are favorable for fire growth and smoke dispersion. The fire weather products we issue such as the Fire Weather Planning Forecast, Fire Weather Watches, Red Flag Warnings, and Spot Forecasts are generally intended for land management agencies in our area such as the Georgia Forestry and the United States Forest Service (USFS). These products provide meteorological data which help these agencies make decisions relating to fire weather, such as when to execute controlled burns and when to expect a higher probability of wildfires.

What is a Red Flag Warning? Should I be concerned about it?

The criteria for the issuance of a Red Flag Warning varies from state to state. The National Weather Service in Peachtree City only provides fire weather services for our counties in North and Central Georgia. To meet Fire Weather Watch/Red Flag Warning criteria there must be a combination low relative humidities (at or below 25%), and/or gusty winds (sustained winds of 20 mph or greater), and/or winds gusting to 25 mph or greater AND Ten Hour fuels of 10% or less. To see the 10 Hour Fuel Moistures you can click on the U.S. 10 Hour Fuel Moisture or you can see what the fire danger rating is at the Georgia fire danger rating page.

When a Red Flag Warning is issued by the National Weather Service, outdoor burning is strongly discouraged.

Satellite Imagery From Recent Smoke Plumes

Below are some recent satellite images of smoke affecting our area. MODIS images are courtesy of NASA and the University of Wisconsin. Click on any image to see a larger version of it.