Wednesday, June 16, 2010

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1930Z June 16, 2010

Central Canada/North Central US:
An expansive area of thin to moderately dense smoke covered much of
central Canada into the North Cenral US this morning most likely from
the fires that have been burning for several days in southeast Northwest
Territories and northern Saskatchewan. Many of these fires could still be
seen producing dense smoke this morning. This leftover smoke stretched
from southern Nunavut/southeast Northwest Territories southward to
the Dakotas and southeast to Illinois and Indiana. In the east-west
direction, smoke extended from northeastern Alberta to James Bay and
Lake Superior. Another small area of smoke was present over southern
Wisconsin and the lower end of Lake Michigan.

Northwest Canada:
Thin remnant smoke was present over parts of the western Northwest
Territories, Yukon Territory, northeast British Columbia, and northwest
Alberta. A few larger fires in the Yukon Territory and in eastern Alaska
are likely the origins of this smoke, though some could also be from
fires that have been burning over the past week.

Southeast Canada/Northeast US:
Thin smoke was streaming offshore this morning and being wrapped into a
coastal upper low that was near Newfoundland. Some moderately dense smoke
was seen over northern Maine, southeast Quebec, and over the southwest
corner of Newfoundland. Likely this smoke came from the fires that have
been burning recently in central Quebec. Additional smoke was probably
present beneath the clouds over southeast Ontario and southwest Quebec
but could not be seen.

Central/South Central US:
An area of smoke, thin to moderate in density covered the central US from
southwest South Dakota, Nebraska, and east Colorado to northeast Texas,
Arkansas, south Missouri, and south Illinois. While some other aerosols
may be mixed in over Arkansas and Missouri, remnant smoke within the
mix is thought to have originated from the fires in Arizona, New Mexico,
and in northern Baja, Mexico.

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


 


Unless otherwise indicated:
  • Areas of smoke are analyzed using GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST Visible satellite imagery.
  • Only a general description of areas of smoke or significant smoke plumes will be analyzed.
  • A quantitative assessment of the density/amount of particulate or the vertical distribution is not included.
  • Widespread cloudiness may prevent the detection of smoke even from significant fires.