In the last hour or so, we're getting reports of a lot of smoke across southwest Florida.. in fact, we can even smell it right now in our studio! Our reporter Kyle Jordan, who was in Cape Coral today, said it came on suddenly at around 8 AM -- and that's what we saw on our Skycam shot, a clear sky at 7 AM, but quite a bit of haze/smoke over Cape Coral and the Lee Island Coast at 8 AM. What gives? Honestly, it's a bit perplexing even to us!
There were several small brush fires around southwest Florida over the weekend, but nothing that was very significant. That said, several of these fires are likely still smoldering somewhat in spots.. so there is some smoke out there. Just after sunrise, we usually reach our coldest temperatures of the day.. and temperatures near the ground would have been slightly cooler than those about 1,000 feet above the ground. This is known as a low level inversion (usually we have colder air above warmer air). This can trap smoke and other particulates near the ground (air can only rise to the "top" of the inversion and then essentially hits a ceiling). The wind is very light this morning, but there is a slight east breeze likely transporting some of the smoldering fire smoke underneath the inversion toward the coast. That's my best guess this morning!
Brian
