Osceola fire prompts advisory for the Bay Area | News

Seeing (and smelling) smoke this morning? 10 News meteorologist Bobby Deskins says the it most likely came from a combination of the County Line / Osceola fire in north Florida, and some smaller fire to our northeast.  The air should continue to gradually clear through the afternoon hours, however Deskins thinks we will still smell a little smoke. 

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The wind will turn more north-northeast Thursday night and there are other fires upstream in that direction.  That means we may see or at least smell more smoke through Friday. 

As of 10 a.m. Thursday, Deskins does not expect the density of smoke we saw this morning to repeat itself on Friday, but at least a little is still possible.

The humidity (dewpoint) dropped dramatically between 4 and 8 a.m. Thursday and as a result, the air is very dry and this will add to the chance of the existing fires spreading and also creates dangerous fire conditions.  As a result, there is a Red Flag Warning in effect for Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, Polk and Sarasota counties until 8 p.m. Thursday.

Humidity levels will increase slowly over the next few days, but there is not much rain in sight. The next best chance is Wednesday.

Pinellas Smoke Advisory

Elevated smoke levels in Pinellas County prompts Air pollution advisory.

This advisory will be effective until the subject wildfires diminish or the meteorological conditions become more favorable.  Air Quality today is currently considered moderate, however, it may become Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups periodically as the density of the smoke plume varies.

Hillsborough Smoke Advisory

The current air quality in Hillsborough County is at a moderate level for fine particulate matter. According to the NOAA Graphical Forecast (8 a.m. EDT), the wind direction from the northeast will persist for the remainder of today. The National Weather Service in Ruskin states that the afternoon sea breeze should clear the smoke from the Tampa Bay Area; similar conditions are expected for tomorrow morning (Friday, April 13).