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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate of 1998 Climate Enhanced Wildfires of 1998
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National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC January 12, 1999
Florida Fires
An unusually wet and mild winter associated with mature El Niño conditions promoted abundant under-brush growth in Florida. Beginning in the spring a persistent subtropical high pressure suppressed rain for several months. Severe drought conditions ensued in May and June, and the under-brush allowed wild fires to spread across much of the state. This multi-channel satellite image, taken on July 2, shows numerous fires on a line from Saint Augustine to Titusville Florida. The red spots are hot spots detected by one of the sensors. The areas on fire are actually smaller than these hot spots.
| Forest Fires in Eastern Russia
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| High pressure persisted from May through September over eastern Russia. The large area of high pressure forced the jet stream southward over China, leaving eastern Russia, including Sakhalin Island without adequate rainfall. Several months of below normal rainfall created a severe drought.
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| The extremely dry conditions allowed hundreds of forest fires to burn out of control for many weeks. This satellite image, taken on August 2 by NOAA-12, vividly shows many large forest fires with streaks of smoke blown across Alaska and western Canada by the prevailing westerlies.
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| Sub-tropical high pressure settled over the region early in the spring season causing dry conditions throughout much of Central America and the southern third of the United States. As farmers in Mexico set fires to clear new lands for crop plantings, the extremely low moisture content of the surrounding vegetation made it difficult to control the fires. As a result, several large areas of wildfire developed.
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This satellite image, taken by GOES-8, is a multispectral, false color composite which shows smoke and haze in yellow tones and hot spots in red tones. The smoke is seen spreading northward into the western Gulf of Mexico and into southern Texas where visibility was reduced to less than 2 miles.
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| Dry conditions associated with mature El Niño conditions last winter is partially to blame for the widespread fires in many parts of Brazil. Many of the fires were started by farmers and loggers clearing land and spread as extremely dry conditions made it difficult to control their size.
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| On some days, GOES satellites captured several thousand fires burning simultaneously. The resultant smoky plumes covered millions of square miles and affected the health of many farmers and native peoples . This multispectral satellite image was taken on July 28 over the province of Mato Grosso in southwestern Brazil.
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As is typical during mature El Niño conditions, the monsoon rains over Indonesia were greatly depressed from June 1997 through May 1998. As a result, Indonesia experienced one of the worst fire outbreaks ever recorded. Smoke traveled for thousands of miles, affecting millions of people.
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| This satellite image, taken by the Japanese GMS satellite on April 7, 1998, is a multi-spectral composite. The image reveals a general smoky haze over much of the region (yellow tones).
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NOAA's National Climatic Data Center is the world's largest active archive of weather data. The preliminary temperature and precipitation rankings are available from the center by calling: 828-271-4800 or on the World Wide Web at: http:/www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/documentlibrary/cvb.html
NOAA works closely with the academic and science communities on climate-related research projects to increase the understanding of El Niño and improve forecasting techniques. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center monitors, analyzes and predicts climate events ranging from weeks to seasons for the nation. NOAA also operates the network of data buoys and satellites that provide vital information about the ocean waters, and initiates research projects to improve future climate forecasts. The long lead climate outlooks are available on the Internet at: http://nic.fb4.noaa.gov.
For further information, contact:
Mike Changery NOAA/National Climatic Data Center 151 Patton Avenue Asheville, NC 28801-5001 fax: 828-271-4328 email: mchangry@ncdc.noaa.gov
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David Easterling NOAA/National Climatic Data Center 151 Patton Avenue Asheville, NC 28801-5001 fax: 828-271-4328 email: david.easterling@noaa.gov
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Rob Quayle NOAA/National Climatic Data Center 151 Patton Avenue Asheville, NC 28801-5001 fax: 828-271-4328 email: rquayle@ncdc.noaa.gov
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Last Updated Wednesday, 20-Aug-2008 12:21:49 EDT by catherine.s.godfrey@noaa.gov
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