Smoke the hot topic on campus

A major forest fire 300 miles to our northwest is making its presence known today (Tuesday, Sept. 13) not only on the UW-Green Bay campus, but across Northeastern Wisconsin.

Atmospheric conditions including an approaching cold front and a strong northwest wind have made the strong odor of smoke — actually, many casual observers have described it as smelling as much like burning plastic as wood smoke — a very noticeable presence here. The smoke is originating with a massive fire near the Boundary Waters wilderness area near the Minnesota-Ontario border.

Prof. Steve Meyer of Natural and Applied Sciences is among the faculty experts giving interviews today on what is, thankfully, a relatively rare phenomenon. In the meantime, he shares this satellite time lapse that shows the approaching smoke plume:  http://www.crh.noaa.gov/images/mkx/2011/mn-fire.gif.