DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0245Z June 20, 2009
Northern Plains/South Central Canada Earlier Today: An area of thin to moderately dense remnant smoke is moving ENE across the northern US/southern Canada region. The area of moderately dense smoke is located across SE Saskatchewan, extreme E Montana and W and C North Dakota. The thin smoke extends over E Montana, C and W Saskatchewan and SE Alberta. Currently the thin remnant smoke has moved farther east into all of North Dakota, N South Dakota and into most of Manitoba and finally into W Ontario. Alaska/Yukon and Northwest Territories: Earlier Today A long, but thin area of SO2 is seen moving N across central/northern Alaska and northern Yukon/Northwest Territories (extending just north of Great Bear Lake). Another area of SO2 is located in SW Alaska. This area is also moving N across the state. The SO2 is coming from the volcano Sarychev Peak located on the Kuril Islands in the Western Pacific. The current OMI SO2 composite of the northern hemisphere showed the S02 plume very well and can be viewed at http://satepsanone.nesdis.noaa.gov/pub/OMI/OMISO2/index.html Currently the SO2 has moved farther north into Alaska and the Yukon and Northwest Territories. Very easy to see in satellite imagery. Western US. Another long, but thin line of SO2 has moved onto the west coast across northern California, central Oregon and Washington State. The SO2 most likely spreads into British Columbia, but it cannot be seen at this time due to cloud cover. Ontario/Quebec: Numerous fires are beginning to pop up across the provinces producing light to moderately dense smoke. Some of these fires are large and have long extending plumes. Southeast/Mississippi Valley: Numerous fires most likely agricultural in nature are producing mostly thin plumes of smoke. Kibler More information on additional areas of smoke associated with these fires and others can be found at the locations listed below. THE FORMAT OF THIS TEXT PRODUCT IS BEING MODIFIED. IT WILL NO LONGER DESCRIBE THE VARIOUS PLUMES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH ACTIVE FIRES. THESE PLUMES ARE DEPICTED IN VARIOUS GRAPHIC FORMATS ON OUR WEB SITE: JPEG: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/FIRE/hms.html GIS: http://www.firedetect.noaa.gov/viewer.htm KML: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/FIRE/kml.html THIS TEXT PRODUCT WILL CONTINUE TO DESCRIBE SIGNIFICANT AREAS OF SMOKE WHICH HAVE BECOME DETACHED FROM AND DRIFTED SOME DISTANCE AWAY FROM THE SOURCE FIRE, TYPICALLY OVER THE COURSE OF ONE OR MORE DAYS. IT WILL ALSO STILL INCLUDE DESCRIPTIONS OF BLOWING DUST. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS REGARDING THESE CHANGES OR THE SMOKE TEXT PRODUCT IN GENERAL SHOULD BE SENT TO SSDFireTeam@noaa.gov