DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1800Z June 14, 2010
Northern Canada: Remnant smoke that probably originated mostly from wildfires in Alaska was seen over the Northwest Territories and into west central Nunavut. This smoke was mostly thin with a few patches of moderately dense smoke. An active wildfire north of the Great Slave Lake was also adding new smoke to the atmosphere. Another area of aerosol believed to be thin remnant smoke was seen over northern Hudson Bay but it is unknown whether the smoke came from northwest Canada or from the fires in south central Canada. Northern US Plains/Southern and Eastern Canada: An extensive area of smoke stretched across much of Saskatchewan/Manitoba eastward across north Ontario, central Quebec, southeast Labrador, and off the coast over the Labrador Sea. Smoke also stretched southward into parts of the northern US states of Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota. While the remnant smoke off the coast was fairly thin in appearance, a large area of moderately dense smoke covered northern Ontario and along the border of North Dakota and Manitoba. Numerous large fires burning for several days in Saskatchewan, southeast Northwest Territories, and central Quebec have contributed to the massive amount of smoke seen today. Many of the wildfires mentioned in these provinces were still producing significant smoke this morning. Alaska/Yukon Territory/Northwest British Columbia: A large area of thin to moderately dense remnant smoke over Alaska stretched from the Artic Ocean to southeast Alaska and the western Yukon Territory. A cyclonic circulation that was over the Gulf of Alaska yesterday had pulled a strand of thin smoke further southward with another patch of smoke present along the northern British Columbia coast. Northern Alberta: An area of thin unknown aerosol was present over northeast Alberta as it was pulled northward by a low pressure center. Gulf of Mexico/Southeast US: An area of aerosol was observed along the Texas coastline and across much of the northern Gulf of Mexico extending northeastward across northern Florida, southeast Georgia and southern South Carolina across the Atlantic. While there may some remnant smoke in this aerosol it is likely a mix of multiple aerosols. Sheffler 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