DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0115Z August 30, 2009
Canada: Smoke from yesterday and early this morning emissions from the S BC fires is racing NE along the jet stream into N Alberta and SE NW Territories (though south of Great Slave Lake) and is very dense though mixed with clouds. Smoke from a few days ago remains south of the main jet axis and appears to be a bit lower in altitude and as such is rotating anticyclonically southward (and stationary in S Alberta) across all of S Alberta, S Saskatchewa and far West Central Manitoba (north of Cedar and Winnipegosis Lakes). A thin strip of thin smoke can be seen across S Saskatchewan clipping the far E side of MT into the Black Hills of SD and Sand Hills of NC NE. California/Pacific: Smoke from yesterday's emissions from the So CA fires along with northern Baja fires has begun to thin out significantly but can still be seen as a thin area hugging the coastline from San Luis Obispo through the Channel islands within the Gulf of Santa Catalina and along the coast of Baja California to Punta San Antonio. From there the smoke continues due south (not along the coastline) to about 27N but still west of Isla Cedros or Punta Eugenia. Gallina More information on the areas of smoke described above as well as 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.osdpd.noaa.gov/ml/land/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