Smoke produced by fires thousands of miles away is now choking a storm swirling in the Atlantic Ocean. Welcome to weather in 2018.
Thursday morning, Weather Channel meteorologist Jonathan Erdman found that smoke from California and Canada's record-breaking wildfires has nearly engulfed subtropical storm Ernesto.
SEE ALSO:How long does it take for today's violent wildfires to go out?Previously, the wildfire smoke had shut down Yosemite National Park, and the National Weather Service watched last week as smoke traveled 3,000 miles across the U.S.
Meteorologists first spotted the inevitable meeting of smoke and storm after Ernesto formed on Wednesday.
Tweet may have been deleted
It's not unprecedented for smoke to waft thousands of miles across the U.S. and beyond, but it certainly is rare, atmospheric scientists explained last week.
It also takes a lot of smoke to create this kind of global impact.
California alone is contributing its fair share, with three of the largest fires in Golden State history having burned well over half a million acres this summer.
The easily visible collision of storm and smoke occurred when the formidable Canadian wildfires were added to the mix, with the benefit of high atmospheric winds.
Tweet may have been deleted
The event is yet another stark consequence of climate change enhancing Earth's natural processes.
Wildfires are an expected summer occurrence, but record and near-record heat has resulted in exceptionally dried-out forests and vegetation in the Western U.S. and Canada, enabling vigorous, deadly storms.
Though Ernesto, in the middle of the ocean, isn't a threat to land and is forecast to peter out in a matter of days, it's unknown how the wildfire smoke will affect the tempest.
Erdman cited past instances of smoke both enhancing rainfall, and suppressing storms.
Tweet may have been deleted
Although this seems like a pretty exceptional event, there's a reasonable chance that much more smoke will enter the high atmosphere in the coming weeks and months.
As Yale University fire scientist Jennifer Marlon noted yesterday, robust fires are still raging, and "there’s still plenty of forest out there to burn."
(责任编辑:焦點)
Tributes flow after death of former Singapore president S.R. Nathan
People think Brad Pitt's photoshoot is super similar to the Harry Styles one
The 17 NBA teams participating in the 'NBA 2K' esports league
Microsoft unveils the next version of Windows
Donald Trump's tangled web of Russian influence
This big city in the South wants to use 100% clean energy by 2035
'American Gods' is blessed with a Season 2 renewal after two episodes
Delta threatens parents with jail for trying to use a seat they bought
Pokémon Go is so big that it has its own VR porn parody now
There aren't enough statues of women—so this app creates them in augmented reality
Two states took big steps this week to get rid of the tampon tax
Gorgeous new Hubble photo shows two galaxies dancing through space