LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — National Weather Service incident meteorologist Joe Goudsward has been living in Australia since Dec. 13 to help the meteorologists on the other side of the world forecast the devouring bushfires.
The meteorologists with the Bureau of Meteorology were overwhelmed by how fast and destructive the blazes grew and reached out to America, he said.
“These fires are so huge and so massive they were creating their own environments," Goudsward explained. "And what we are doing here is giving our expertise to the forecasting staff here and providing fire weather forecasts to the personnel on the ground who are actually fighting fires.”
Goudsward said the combination of 2019 as the warmest and driest year on record has left the land a tinderbox.
“Just the explosiveness of these fires and how much acreage they consumed is something I have not seen in my career,” he said.
The effects of the raging firestorm have been tragic, not only for the residents, but also the wildlife. Goudsward said over one-half billion animals have been affected in the state of New South Wales.
“There are many charitable organizations right now to care for animals and for the people whose lives have basically been turned upside down,” Goudsward said.
Major populated areas have felt the impacts from the flames in terms of the choking smoke that, at times, drifted into cities like Sydney.
“My first couple of days here, I actually did get bronchitis because of all the smoke I was breathing. But I went to the doctor I am okay now, but a lot of people that live here have some serious respiratory issues," Goudsward said.
The worst is over, it appears, with the stagnant weather pattern breaking and beneficial rains falling.
“Over the past couple of days, the fire people on the ground have made significant progress,” he said.
Goudsward said his six week service is about to end.
“I have met some amazing people, but it’s time to go home”, he said.