Siberian smoke in Reno? Winds bring haze from field fires
Siberian smoke in Reno? Winds bring haze from field fires
20 April 2015
published by www.rgj.com
USA/Russia — A blanket of smoke from wildfires in Reno isn’t all that unusual, especially during the fire season. But what’s surprising is a haze in Reno from wildfires burning in Siberia.
Siberian smoke has descended on Reno and could cover the area throughout the day, forecasters from the National Weather Service said.
The fires sparked in Khakassia, a region in southeastern Siberia, after farmers burned their fields of any leftover debris from last year, the Associated Press reported Sunday.
The flames spread out of control because of strong winds, killing more than a dozen people and destroying hundreds of homes, the AP reported.
Those same strong winds picked up dust and sand in Mongolia and northern China, blowing sand storms in Beijing, according to the Cliff Mass Weather Blog, which was posted on the National Weather Service Facebook page in Reno.
Now it’s moving into the Reno area, local forecasters said. The haze could hang over the city until the fires in Siberia are extinguished, or at least until a few thunderstorms move through the Sierra.
“Scattered afternoon showers and isolated thunderstorms will develop in the Sierra today,” Reno forecasters said in a statement on the National Weather Service website Monday.
“Low pressure will move into eastern California and western Nevada Tuesday and last through much of the work week, bringing increasing chances for showers and thunderstorms out into western Nevada as well as cooler temperatures area wide,” forecasters said in the statement.
