Wildfires can intensify already destructive storms as much as half a continent away New research finds that wildfires in the western U.S. can lead to greater hailstorms and more intense rainfall as far as 1,500 miles away, as climate-fuelled drought and unprecedented heat push them to new, unparalleled extremes. Scientists have begun to investigate and catalog the ways the massive events influence weather, unveiling the crucial reality that different climate-impacted regions are intrinsically connected. Wildfires have recent years begun to erupt earlier and earlier, a factor made possible due to climate change driven drought and more intense heat waves. The leaders of this research chose to look into several big central storms dating from the year 2010. Whilst doing so, they revealed data which proved such big conflagrations occurring right before major storm events, thus proving their hypothesis. Additionally, the California’s fire agency stated that we are now entering a period where we no longer experience wildfire 'seasons', and that now instead we will see blazes engulfing large areas all year round. Read more on how fires affect storms in the article here --> https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/wildfires-can-intensify-destructive-storms-half-a-continent-away PHOTOGRAPH BY STUART PALLEY, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION