WASHINGTON, August 9 (States News Service) --- As firefighters struggle to contain the wildfires raging in the western United States, new images from National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellites are showing that the smoke from the fires is beginning to drift eastward into the upper Midwest.

The satellite image shows smoke over Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota --- all states where major wildfires have not yet erupted.

"This is probably about the earliest that weve ever noticed anything to this extent," said Larry Riley, a meteorologist with Litton PRC.

Monsoons in the southwestern United States are likely powering the smokes eastward drive, he said.

As the storms circle in a clockwise motion, the winds move westward over states like New Mexico and Arizona. They then continue moving clockwise over Idaho and Montana, pushing the smoke eastward toward the Midwest.

The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho reported that 63,916 wildfires affecting more than 4.1 million acres (1.6 million hectares) have broken out nationwide this year.

The immediate outlook does not look good for firefighters, as meteorologists are forecasting dry lighting over much of the Pacific Northwest Wednesday and Thursday, increasing the potential for more fires.

Thunderstorms, indicated on the satellite image by the heavy groups of white clouds, should help clear some of the smoke from the air over the Dakotas and parts of Minnesota, Riley said.

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 8 (GOES 8), launched in 1994, provided the image. Dedicated to meteorological work, GOES 8 is stationed over the western Atlantic Ocean and is the 11th in a series of the geostationary weather satellites.

NASA developed the satellites and Space Systems/Loral of Palo Alto, California, built them. NOAA is responsible for their daily operation.

GOES 8, however, may not be long for this world. Engineers designed the satellite with only a five-year lifetime, but GOES 8 entered its sixth year of service on April 13.

NASA launched a replacement satellite -- GOES 11 -- on May 3, but is holding it in reserve until either GOES 8 or the younger GOES 10, which covers the West Coast, fails.