Thursday, June 15, 2006

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0115Z June 16, 2006.

United States:
Florida:
A fire near Alexander Springs in N Lake county produced a pocket of
moderately dense smoke that as of the last visible image ~0000Z extended
E from the sea breeze convergence line along the Lake/Volusia county
line and out more than 110km to the due East of the town of Ariel in
Volusia county.

Central Mississippi River Basin (includes SE MO, E AR, ext. W TN/KY):
A tremendous amount of agricultural fires is producing a very large area
of moderate smoke concentrated over the low elevations of the Mississippi
River Basin.  The smoke has been drifting NW.  This has lead to the
smoke covering most portions of SE MO and extreme SW IL from Sparta IL,
to Poplar Bluff, MO to the KY/MO/IL line back to Sparta.  A second area
of high density of puffs but moderate coverage of area is located across
E AR (north of the 35N but south of a Walnut Ridge to Jonesboro, AR line).

Texas:
A fire near Sonora in Sutton county is producing moderately dense smoke
that is moving quickly N along the western edge of a fair weather cumulus
field and extends N about 115km to the Irion/Sterling county line.

New Mexico/Arizona:
Very strong uniform wind flow across E AZ and W/SW NM has lead the
fires to produce dense to convectively dense smoke that is moving NE
very rapidly in narrow plumes.  Currently the Brushy fire in AZ and the
Martinez, Cement, Wilson and Skates fires in NM all have narrow (10km)
wide plumes that are moving NE into a cloudy region where then ends of
the smoke plumes can no longer be discerned across W and Central NM.

Alaska:
Two fires just south of the Phillip Smith Mtns and Davidson Mtns. of the
Brooks range near and east of Arctic Village are producing moderately
dense smoke that extends due W along the spine of the range, but is
actually moving to the north as a wind shift is turning it.  It mixes
with cirrus obscuring the western edges of the plumes.

Canada:
Quebec:
A large fire E of Eastmain is producing a narrow but concentrated moderate
to dense plume of smoke that extends SE more than 177km into C. Quebec.
A fire S or SSE of Sakami (S of Res. de La Grande) is producing a narrow
but concentrated moderately dense plume of smoke that extends ESE more
than 127km.

Ontario:
A fire W of Attawapiskat along the river of the same name has produced
a thin to moderately dense plume of smoke that has extended E over to
Akimiski Island in the Central James Bay.

Saskatchewan:
Pyrocumulonimbus are developing over the fire about 100-125km South
of Lake Athabasca, this is in response to a rapid intensification of
the fire in the last hour.  Otherwise a thinner plume of smoke (with
moderate density) from earlier burning of this and two fires along the
S shore of Lake Athabasca have being circling over Northern Alberta and
Saskatchewan under the influence of a high pressure area that has been
getting the squeeze (W to E) between a strong Low over S Alberta and a
strong W/NW arctic jet.

Gallina


 


Unless otherwise indicated:
  • Areas of smoke are analyzed using GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST Visible satellite imagery.
  • Only a general description of areas of smoke or significant smoke plumes will be analyzed.
  • A quantitative assessment of the density/amount of particulate or the vertical distribution is not included.
  • Widespread cloudiness may prevent the detection of smoke even from significant fires.