DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0230Z September 11, 2005
Mid-Atlantic region to the Great Lakes region and middle/lower Mississippi Valley: The large mass of thin smoke from active fires earlier this week in Idaho and Montana has apparently become trapped in weak flow under a sprawling ridge of high pressure over the Northern and Central portion of the US extending eastward into the Mid-Atlantic states. As time progresses, it is becoming more difficult to distinguish between the overall haze covering this area and the leftover trapped smoke. Evening visible imagery did show the thickest density of haze/smoke covered an area stretching from the MD/PA border southwestward to the western Carolinas. The thickest haze/smoke then extended westward in a thin band across southern West Virginia right across the Ohio River Valley. The smoke/haze extended farther to the west where it joined up with a north-south elongated rather dense area of smoke/haze stretching from the lower Mississippi Valley northward to the western Great Lakes region. In addition to the leftover smoke from the earlier western fires and overall haze across this region, a significant number of primarily agricultural burns over the central and lower Mississippi Valley region were producing numerous smaller smoke plumes which were also contributing to the overall hazy/smoky appearance to the airmass on evening visible satellite imagery across this area. Manitoba/Ontario Provinces of south central Canada: The smoke seen earlier this morning across south central Canada was no longer visible this evening due to cloudiness overspreading the region. JS