Alberta wildfires bring smoke to SD

Several massive wildfires are currently burning across northern Alberta with the Chuckegg Creek fire being the largest at 150,000 hecatres (370,658 acres).

These fires are sending plumes of smoke to the southeast where they are impacting air quality and visibility across the north-central US.

The closed 700 mb low over Iowa is bringing northeasterly winds to South Dakota which is allowing the smoke to travel across the state.

And visible satellite really picked up the smoke this morning when the sun angle was low.

May wildfires are not out of the norm for Alberta. Recall the Fort McMurray wildfire of early May 2016 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Fort_McMurray_wildfire.

So if you see or smell smoke across the region, realize it is not of local origin.

A wet two weeks

It has most definitely been a wet two weeks across South Dakota with most stations reporting over 200% of their historical averages for the period.

But even this map doesn't tell the whole story. Looking at actual precipitation amounts reveals how wet it actually has been across the state.

Nearly all of western SD has received 2-4 inches more rain than what is average for the period. This has led to widespread flooding near creeks and rivers with significant ponding across the prairies. Fortunately the forecast is calling for relatively dry weather over the next 7-14 days.

Regardless of the upcoming 'dry' period, I do not expect anything close to enhanced fire danger. It's been too wet for too long and the fuels are too green to burn. This wet period will likely keep our fire potential low for at least the next 30 days.