Fire Weather Intelligence Portal Expanded to Entire Southern Region
A cooperative
agreement between the USDA Southeast Climate Hub and the State Climate Office
of North Carolina supported an expansion of the Fire Weather Intelligence
Portal. The portal now includes new fire weather and fire risk parameters, a
mobile-friendly design, and coverage of the entire 13-state USDA Forest Service
Southern Region.
The State Climate Office of North Carolina and the North Carolina Forest
Service developed the web-based Fire Weather Intelligence Portal in 2011. As a
single source for fire weather and fire danger information, fire managers could
use the portal to view past, current, and forecasted fire risk and weather
conditions in North Carolina when managing prescribed burns and wildfires.
Through a cooperative agreement between the USDA Southeast Climate Hub and
North Carolina State University, the portal was updated to cover the entire
13-state USDA Forest Service Southern Region. The expanded portal also features
faster loading times, a mobile-friendly design, and updated information
packages of critical fire weather and fire danger information (e.g., fuel
temperature and moisture, wind speed and direction, relative humidity, and fire
potential) for assessments of daily burning and smoke dispersion conditions. Southern
fire managers can use this real-time and forecasted weather and fire risk
information to make informed on-the-ground decisions that best utilize
resources and protect life and property.
Pictured: Devastating wildfires burned over 80,000 acres across five southeastern states in fall 2016. A Fire Weather Intelligence Portal image from November 29 of that year shows how extensive drought, as indicated by the embedded U.S. Drought Monitor map, and high forest fire potential, as indicated by the Keetch-Byram Drought Index, contributed to the fires’ spread and intensity.
Related links:
External Partners/Collaborators: North Carolina State University, State Climate Office of North Carolina
Contact: Steven McNulty, Director, USDA Southeast Climate Hub, steve.mcnulty@usda.gov
