How wildfire smoke impacts weather forecasting

AccuWeather

Wildfires can produce smoke that impacts the air in areas thousands of miles away from the actual fire and can have a major impact on weather forecasting. AccuWeather's Ariella Scalese explains.

Transcript

00:00wildfires are a serious concern not just for the immediate danger they pose but also for the way

00:10their smoke can impact weather forecasting when wildfires occur they release large amounts of

00:16smoke in particular matter into the atmosphere this smoke can travel hundreds or even thousands

00:20of miles affecting areas far from the actual fire one of the primary ways smoke impacts weather

00:26forecasting is by altering the amount of sunlight that reaches the earth's surface the particles in

00:31the smoke scatter and absorb sunlight reducing the amount of solar energy that reaches the ground

00:36this can lead to cooler temperatures in areas affected by the smoke weather models rely on

00:42accurate measurements of solar radiation to predict temperature changes so when smoke interferes it can

00:47throw off these predictions but luckily our team of meteorologists at AccuWeather can manually enter

00:51correct information to provide a more accurate forecast for you smoke can impact cloud formation

00:57and precipitation the particles can act as cloud condensation nuclei which are essential for cloud

01:03formation however an excess of these particles can lead to the formation of smaller less effective

01:09droplets potentially reducing rainfall these two factors i mentioned temperatures and clouds are

01:14very important factors for forecasting severe weather smoke can also obscure satellite images and ground-based

01:21observations which are crucial for tracking weather patterns meteorologists depend on clear visuals to

01:27monitor storm development wind patterns and other critical factors smoke from wildfires can

01:33significantly impact weather forecasting by altering sunlight cloud formation precipitation and visibility

01:39as wildfires become more frequent and intense you can count on our team of over 100 experts and

01:44meteorologists to understand these impacts and provide you with superior accuracy

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