National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Severe Weather and Heavy Rain for the Plains and Mid-Atlantic; Building Heat in the West

Severe thunderstorms will remain possible in the Mid-Atlantic through Tuesday. Severe thunderstorms and heavy rain will also be possible in the central/southern Plains on Tuesday and Wednesday. Hazardous heat will linger across the southern U.S. and build across the West through mid-week. Hot and dry weather will create Elevated to Critical fire weather conditions in the Four Corners Region. Read More >

Smoke dispersal is categorized by using the Ventilation Rate. Ventilation Rate forecasts for a specific point can be found using the Fire Weather Dashboard. Click a spot on the map and scroll down to find daily and hourly Ventilation Rate values for the next few days.

 

Fire Weather Dashboard

 

The link above is configured to display smoke dispersal categories as shown here:

 

  Smoke Dispersal Vent. Rate, knot-feet (x1000)
     Excellent             150 or greater
     Very Good 100 to 149.99
     Good 60 to 99.99
     Fair 40 to 59.99
     Poor less than 40

 

Ventilation Rate = Transport Wind (kts) Mixing Height (ft)