U.S: Smoke From Burning Oil May Head Towards Coast

U.S: Smoke From Burning Oil Could Head Towards Coast

State College, Pa. -- 28 April 2010 -- AccuWeather.com reports the U.S. Coast Guard will attempt to set fire to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill before it reaches beaches, and now winds could be responsible for pulling thick, black smoke towards the Louisiana Delta.

AccuWeather.com meteorologists foresee winds gusting 20 to 30 mph beginning to pull up out of the south late in the day on Thursday, lasting through early next week.

New Orleans could be in the line of the fire's smoke if winds continue in a southeasterly path. The city could also be hammered with the pungent odor of burning oil.

The storm system currently moving across the Pacific Northwest will head towards the nation's midsection by late week. Seas in the Gulf of Mexico will be choppy, with waves heights between 3 and 9 feet through at least Monday of next week.

Today, winds are light and seas are calm in the Gulf, which will aid Wednesday cleanup efforts of the Deepwater Horizon rig. These conditions should last through the day today.

CNN reports that the Coast Guard could begin burning portions of the oil slick as early as Wednesday afternoon. The slick has moved to within 20 miles off the Louisiana coast.

The Coast Guard said the spill will be burnt in controlled zones, and they are not planning to ignite the entire spill at once.

If the winds continue as AccuWeather.com meteorologists have forecast, remnants of the oil slick could make it to the beaches along the coasts of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida by early this weekend.

Oil is spilling from the Deepwater Horizon rig, which sunk about 50 miles off the coast of Venice, La., last week.

There could be as much as 700,000 gallons of diesel fuel on board the sunken rig. Experts studying the spill estimate that 42,000 gallons of crude oil are leaking each day.

The current area of the slick has stretched as wide as 42 miles by 80 miles in the Gulf of Mexico.

ENDS

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