DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1600Z APRIL 27, 2008
Western Canada/Central and East Central US: More possible smoke of thin density, likely from the large Russian fires which have been ongoing for the past week or so, was visible in morning GOES-West satellite imagery spreading southeastward from the western Canadian provinces of The Northwest Territories, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba to the south central and east central US. In the US, the smoke covered a large region from eastern Montana and the Dakotas southward to eastern New Mexico, northern Texas, and Oklahoma. The smoke also extended eastward over Minnesota and Iowa to at least as far east as the Great Lakes region and the Ohio Valley. Some possible additional smoke was visible in cloud free areas extending from the Ohio Valley to the interior Northeast and southeastern Canada. However, this area is only visible using GOES-East imagery and the optical sun viewing angle is not favorable for detecting atmospheric pollutants in the morning using GOES-East imagery. Southern California: Some localized smoke was observed over Los Angeles County close to the wildfire burning over the central part of the county. Gulf of Mexico: Smoke from the seasonal fires burning across portions of Mexico and Central America was visible this morning mainly in the Bay of Campeche. Widespread cloudiness farther to the north in the western Gulf of Mexico and across eastern Mexico, and southern and eastern Texas is preventing the detection of any smoke which may be present in those areas. JS