SATELLITE - SMOKE - HURRICANE DELTA

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The visible satellite image from GOES 16 at 2:01 p.m. CDT this afternoon shows hurricane Delta in the Gulf of Mexico, smoke from western wild fires over the Plains and Upper Midwest, and beautiful autumn weather covering much of the nation from the west to the Midwest.

The satellite is stationed in geostationary orbit 22,236 miles above the equator. Photos courtesy of NOAA.

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The close-up image below shows the smoke blanket covering all or parts of the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas into Iowa, Minnesota and the Great Lakes.

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Smoke can sure travel a long ways from California to Iowa.

Looking southwest from near Fontanelle, Iowa 10-08-2020. The red and yellow hue is due to smoke aloft over southwest Iowa.

Looking southwest from near Fontanelle, Iowa 10-08-2020. The red and yellow hue is due to smoke aloft over southwest Iowa.

Smoke around 2:30 CDT today, looking south-southeast. Notice the thicker white in the direction ofthe Sun on the right side of the photo. This is due to the scattered of sunlight by the smoke. The scattering is stronger when looking toward the Sun.

Smoke around 2:30 CDT today, looking south-southeast. Notice the thicker white in the direction ofthe Sun on the right side of the photo. This is due to the scattered of sunlight by the smoke. The scattering is stronger when looking toward the Sun.

This view looks north in the opposite direction. Notice how the white is not as intense looking away from the Sun.

This view looks north in the opposite direction. Notice how the white is not as intense looking away from the Sun.

How did the smoke get to Iowa? The upp

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The upper level winds at 30,000 feet are directly from west to east from California to Iowa. Notice the wind barbs and flags plotting the wind speed and direction on the map. Winds along the path range from about 20 knots to 50 knots (23 to 58 mph). The strongest winds aloft are in the shaded areas where speeds are 75 mph in the green area to more than 100 mph in the red.