Burn Bans & Smokestack Scrubbers

Here is an interesting link: go to
http://wwwa.accuweather.com/radar-local.asp?partner=accuweather&traveler=
0&zipcode=&level=local&anim=1&site=ksjt and note the pattern of the
rainfall--to wit: it is situated in long, thin lines that are moving
with the wind, and not connected with any frontal passage. It is clear
from the radar trace that the wind at the level of the clouds is blowing
toward the northeast, and it looks like there are two big fires on the
ground in Val Verde and Crockett counties (this is in Texas, U.S.A for
you foreigners). As the particulates (smoke, etc.) rise into the levels
where the air is saturated with water vapor, they act as condensation
nuclei. Result: it rains along the path of the smoke. My guess is that
huge piles of cedar are being burned on some of the big ranches in the
area. (There are states in the northeastern U.S. that are smaller than
some of those ranches, and cedar--a.k.a., Ashe juniper--is a gigantic,
noxious weed that ranchers must fight constantly, if there is to be any
plant life on their ranches that cattle can eat. Mostly, they bulldoze
it into piles and burn it.)

Unfortunately, I have no way to confirm that smoke from cedar burning is
the source of this rain pattern. By the time I could drive down there,
this weather pattern will have dissipated. Is there anybody on the
ground in that area who has time to drive around and find the source of
the smoke? If so, I would appreciate hearing from you. Alternatively,
does anybody have a public link to a free, live satellite video feed?
With high resolution IR, it might be possible to actually see hot spots
on the ground in those areas.

This is of interest to me because these sorts of weather patterns
account for most of the rain in west and northwest Texas, and those
areas have been getting progressively drier in recent years, (a) due to
the proliferation of bans on outdoor burning, and (b) due to the EPA
requirement that particulates be removed from factory smokestacks. It is
uncommon, however, for the connection between smoke and rain to be as
obvious as it appears to be on the radar traces that we are seeing
today, and I think it merits further investigation.

Hopefully, this message will be posted before the pattern disappears,
but, unfortunately, it appears to be weakening already. :-(

--Mitchell Jones

*****************************************************************
If I seem to be ignoring you, consider the possibility
that you are in my killfile. --MJ
.

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