DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0330Z September 16, 2009
North Central US/Central Canada: Evening visible satellite imagery showed a fairly large area of thin to moderately dense remnant smoke and haze stretching from Minnesota and the Dakotas northward through parts of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and southwest Nunavut. The main area of moderately dense smoke was observed over and around Lake Winnipeg. This remnant smoke and haze was being wrapped around and into an upper low that continues to push northeastward across Saskatchewan. Active fires in southern Manitoba, North Dakota, and Minnesota were adding some additional new smoke. A long thin band of smoke/other aerosols was also seen this evening pushing quickly to the east toward Hudson's Bay ahead of the main area of smoke and was extended from southwest Nunavut to just north of International Falls, MN. Great Lakes Region: Thin to moderately dense smoke and haze was seen along a cold front from southern Wisconsin to northern Minnesota where it joined in with other smoke/haze as described above. The area of smoke was being pushed southwestward this evening by the frontal boundary. The origin of this smoke/haze is unknown. Southwest Canada: Thin smoke with embedded moderately dense smoke was seen wrapping around the southwest side of an upper low. This remnant smoke likely came from fires in British Columbia. Another area of remnant smoke was seen being lifted across southern British Columbia by the Pacific system and probably originated from fires in Oregon yesterday. Mid-Atlantic Coast: An area of haze, which possibly contains some thin smoke, was seen stretching eastward from the lower Chesapeake Bay, southeast VA, and northeast North Carolina out over the waters of the Atlantic. Several fires were present yesterday in West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina with some that were seen producing smoke yesterday evening. Gulf of Mexico: An area of thin to moderately dense remnant smoke was observed lifting northeastward across the central Gulf of Mexico from recent fires in the Yucatan region of Mexico. -Sheffler 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