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Wildfires in the Southern U.S.

The majority of wildfire activity for the U.S. continues in the southern states. There are currently nine active large fires that have burned 13,226 acres as well as numerous smaller ones. A "large fire" is defined by the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) as a wildfire of 100 acres or more occurring in timber, or a wildfire of 300 acres or more occurring in grass/sage. In this MODIS image from the Terra satellite taken on March 8, 2013, numerous red pixels highlight all the fires currently burning.

The NIFC in Boise, Idaho, reports as of March 8, 2013, that there are currently nine active large fires which have burned 13,226 acres.

An upper level storm system will move from the Southwest to the northern Plains over the weekend, producing snow from the southern Sierra to the Great Lakes. A cold front stretching from the upper system will drag across the southern U.S., bringing rain and thunderstorms from Texas to the mid-Atlantic region early in the week. High pressure will keep conditions generally dry in the West through the period. Temperatures will slowly warm in the West while the central and eastern U.S. will remain cool, except for the Gulf coast region.

NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team, GSFC. Caption by Lynn Jenner with information from NIFC.