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Reporter-News Archives Friday, May 7, 1999 City’s skies dirtied by flow of smoke, dust By JERRY DANIEL REED Senior Staff Writer Central America is again blowing smoke at Texas, though not nearly as much as a year ago. Big Country residents saw some of the smoke the past two days, but they’ll never know how much. The smoke drifting north was mixed with a northwesterly flow of prairie dust to produce dingy late afternoon skies, but it was impossible to tell how much of each pollutant there was, said KTXS-TV meteorologist Charlie Jordan. So far, it doesn’t look like the smoke from cropland clear burning will be nearly as thick as it was last year, the National Weather Service says. Last year’s smoke-hazed Texas skies lasted for several weeks because the agricultural burning was out of control when the seasonal rains that usually hold the fires in check didn’t materialize. Thursday afternoon’s skies in the Abilene area were clear and bright, with no sign of smoke. But the smoke was noticeable in parts of the Gulf of Mexico and southeast Texas on Thursday. Some drifting farther west and north is expected early next week, said meteorologist Clay Anderson of the San Antonio NWS office. “Probably on Sunday, we will be getting smoke from that direction, and it’ll be a little bit heavier on Monday,’’ he said. “It could drift all the way up to North Texas, to Abilene.’’ Jordan said the smoke causes no problem as long as it doesn’t reduce visibility to below the required visual flight rule levels. “As long as we stay above seven miles, it’s really not an issue,’’ he said. Thursday was close to a picture-perfect day with its blue skies and mild temperatures topping out in the middle 70s. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: Enter their email address below:  texnews.com Reporter OnLine Local News Texas News Copyright ©1999, Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications

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