"The Insidious Smoke from South of the Border"

[BayouVenteux]

Any of our S and SE Texas posters out there know any background as to the cause of the Mexican smoke and smog that the Hou/Gal NWS met refers to below? ...and please refrain from any combustible illicit substance wisecracks.

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
435 AM CDT THU APR 28 2005

.DISCUSSION...
NOT THAT MANY CHANGES WITH THE GOING FORECAST FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS AS WE AWAIT THE ARRIVAL OF THE NEXT FRONT. IN THE MEANTIME... SOME HIGH CLOUDS THIS MORNING EXPECTED TO GIVE WAY TO A WARMISH/PC AFTN AS LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE SLOWLY CREEPS UP (VIA THE STRENGTHENING ONSHORE FLOW). THIS SFC PATTERN ALSO BODES ILL FOR THE IMMINENT ARRIVAL OF THE INSIDIOUS SMOKE FROM AREAS SOUTH OF THE BORDER (WHICH IS KIND OF HARD TO SEE ON SATELLITE THIS MORNING OWING TO THE HIGH CLOUDS THAT HAVE INVADED). AT ANY RATE THE INJECTION OF "HAZY" MAY NOT BE A BAD IDEA FOR FRIDAY...

[Aslkahuna]

This time of year they burn off the fields in preparation for planting new crops and is other cases they are doing the old Slash and Burn trick whereby they set fire to the forests to clear land for farming. This latter is usually done in the southern parts of Mexico into Central America where arable land is scarce while the former is done in northern Mexico. Buring off of fields and rice Paddies and Slash and Burn is common in Asia as well. In the US, the burning off of Rice Paddies is done in the Fall (the burning off of rice stubble is necessary to ensure that the new crop will not be threatened by fungus, etc. Also, in some countries the Cane fields are fired to drive out snakes, etc. This is also the time of year when the Cane is harvested so the fields are fired just before the people go in to cut the cane-wouldn't do to have Cobras, Fer de Lances and all that in the fields with the people.

Steve

[stormcloud]

Sadly, many times the burning gets out of control and more land is burned than originally planned. Sadly also, many time all the smoke heads for the US.

[BayouVenteux]

Thanks for that information. I'm somewhat familiar with the sort of agricultural practices you're referring to, as here in south Louisiana we have the sugar cane industry. In the winter, before the harvest, sugar cane farmers practice a time-honored ritual of controlled burns of their crop in the canefields to remove the leafy material and make the sugar production that will follow the harvest more efficient. While it's a bit more advanced than "slash and burn" in terms of the science, it still makes for some localized heavy smog and smoke. Many people who have built houses in areas that were growing cane before the suburbs of New Orleans and Baton Rouge expanded often complain about the smoke, but to me personally, it's a tradition, part of our heritage, and a distinctive smell that signifies autumn in our part of the world.

[Aslkahuna]

In the Philippines, they burned the Cane Fields in early Spring with the harvest coming before the onset of the monsoon. In CA, the rice fields are burned in Fall and they have to get approval from the State Air Quality people before burning because the rice growing areas are close the the Metropolitan areas of Sacramento and Stockton.

Steve

[wxcrazytwo]

this is why...

Forest fires rage in Mexico
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thursday, April 28, 2005 (Guadalajara):


Fires continued burning in a nature reserve outside the Mexican city of Guadalajara on Wednesday.

Authorities considered whether to cancel school classes for a third day because of the smoke and haze.

Officials declared a smog alert on Tuesday after fires in the Bosque de la Primavera reserve blanketed much of Mexico's second-largest city with a pall of thick gray smog.

Causing devastation

Hundreds of firefighters and volunteers were battling more than 12 separate blazes in forests outside the city, 280 miles (450 kilometres) west of the nation's capital.

Two large fires that began on Monday afternoon in the reserve have destroyed hundreds of acres (hectares) of woodlands, raising the level of suspended particles in the air to unhealthy levels, authorities said.

The education secretary for Jalisco state - which includes Guadalajara - ordered all municipal schools closed and the city's main universities also shut their doors to protect students, faculty members and staff from unhealthy air.

Officials from the state health secretariat issued a recommendation that residents stay indoors and said they had taken extra precautions to treat asthma patients who could be especially affected. (AP)

[jeff]

Smoke has arrived in SE TX, but its stay will be brief.

[vbhoutex]

Yep it is pretty obvious today even with the cloud cover. I'm glad to know it will be moving on!!

[Johnny]

How long is brief? I will be staying in a beachfront home in Galveston for an entire week starting the 9th of May.


We rented out a beach front home at the exact same time last year and the same problem was occuring. We were in a smoke haze the entire time down there. I sure don't want to have the kind of stuff around again.

[jeff]

How long is brief? I will be staying in a beachfront home in Galveston for an entire week starting the 9th of May.


We rented out a beach front home at the exact same time last year and the same problem was occuring. We were in a smoke haze the entire time down there. I sure don't want to have the kind of stuff around again.

What I meant by brief was just today prior to the frontal passage this evening. As winds turn back around to the S by Sunday the smoke will roll back in. Southerly flow should continue through much of next week. However an increasing chance of rain may help clean some of this out of the air.

[cctxhurricanewatcher]

It a annual event. It's been worse in years past depending on where the ridge is located in the Gulf. The worse year had to be 1998 when we were in the middle of a horrible drought and we had the hottest June on record in Corpus and I think most of Texas when we had three or four days of temps near 110 right here in Corpus. The smoke from Mexico added to the misery and it nearly triped the EPA to impose stricter Air quality rules which was unfair considering the source was not from Corpus.

[Shoshana]

^ Yup, 1998 smoke season was awful here in Austin too. We were driving on the highway when the smoke rolled in - we thought something along the freeway was on fire! That's how bad it was. It was thick enough to be mistaken for fog - way beyond just 'haze'

It set my asthma off lik you wouldn't believe...

'shana

[JenBayles]

You're right about 1998. I remember April and May we were using headlights in Houston on some days it was so thick. And talk about STINK! Some met correct me if I'm wrong here, but I seem to remember drought conditions in the Houston area back then, and an inversion that would just not let up. Then the fires got completely out of control and started in on the jungle requiring US aid to control. Prevailing winds just kept pumping that junk right into Texas.

[PTrackerLA]

I remember the May of 1998 quite well. We were also suffering from all that smoke and unheard of air quality warnings were issued. We hit an all time high of 98 degrees on May 30 and were in the midst of a severe drought. I believe that either late that day or the following day a storm popped up right over us and it began to hail marble size for a few minutes followed by a very heavy thunderstorm. Quite the sight after not receiving a drop of rain that whole month with temps consistently in the 90s (along with all that terrible smoke). Luckily we haven't had to deal with the smoke or bad drought this spring, although it has been rather dry.

[vbhoutex]

I think we had 0.16" of rain that month and it was HOT!!!

[KatDaddy]

1998........The year of TS Frances. Quite a tropical storm that effected TX and LA. What does 2005 hold for TX and LA?? After last year with FLA pounding I am still not ready for it. Even though we were safe a new respect was gained. Lets just say it solidified my Alicia experience again.

[Shoshana]

Blech. it's baaack.

How can I tell? Besides seeing the the haze, I've had to use my emergency inhaler 3 times in 2 days

'shana