On May 2, NASA's Terra satellite captured wafting smoke over the Pacific Ocean from fires fueled by hot, dry Santa Ana winds, high temperatures and low humidity.
The National Interagency Fire Center has predicted that fire season in California could be earlier than normal due to scarce winter and spring precipitation. Meteorologist Jeff Masters of Weather Underground noted that an unusually sharp ridge of high pressure has set up, bringing record high temperatures, a strong Santa Ana wind event and dangerous fire weather.
Temperatures in Southern California were above 90° Fahrenheit in many places, with humidity as low as 5 percent.
Image courtesy of NASA.