SUFFOLK
Three days of thunderstorms has done much to quiet wildfires in the Dismal Swamp. But the relief will last only as long as the storms.
"It's really making a huge difference in terms of short-term fire behavior," said Annaleasa Winter, a spokeswoman for the 227-person, multi-departmental team fighting the 4,629-acre fire.
Winter said the top peat layers in the swamp are cooling, but that layer runs several feet deep in many areas.
"We'd need a lot more precipitation over a longer period of time to have a big impact," she said.
The rainfall has meant firefighters have been able to go much deeper inside the fire perimeter to battle the blaze, she said.
Meterologists are keeping a close eye on the storms' effect on the wildfires, too, said Tony Siebers, a meterologist with the National Weather Service in Wakefield. Persistent smoke has made it more difficult to predict weather patterns, he said.
The most rainfall Sunday fell along the Virginia Beach/Chesapeake border, which received as much as 6 inches. Everywhere in Hampton Roads received at least an inch, Siebers said.
Monday's forecast is the same as the past couple days, Siebers said: Storms, and temperatures in the mid-80s.
John Warren, (757) 446-2309, john.warren@pilotonline.com
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