Smoke from regional forest fires filling Wind River Basin; Westerly wind flow responsible
(Riverton, Wyo.) – For the second day in a row, smoke filled the Wind River Basin from forest fires as far away as Utah, Idaho and Montana. The National Weather Service Forecast Office in Riverton (NWS) provided a satellite image that showed a high pressure system moving the smoke in a clockwise direction and across Wyoming.
“A high pressure system is moving clockwise from southwest to west and that’s what is moving the smoke into the Wind River Basin,” said Chris Jones at the NWS. “There’s another smoke plume from central Idaho fires that is also on the move, along with fires in southwest Montana. We’ll have a little less smoke here, the majority will be across Northern Wyoming, so we’ll have some temporary relief.” Jones said more smoke is expected Sunday night into early next week. “That westerly flow will continue early into the week and bring the smoke with it,” he said.
For the latest official information on Wyoming wildfires, click here.