DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1602Z August 1, 2010
Central Canada: Dense smoke can be seen covering the fire sources of Saskatchewan and SE into central Manitoba NW of the main large lakes. Moderate smoke covers much of the same area but extends toward the west across Central Alberta connecting up with moderate smoke from the BC fires described below. This moderate area also extends toward the SE into a small but well defined cyclone over central to NW Ontario and in the Westerly flow to the south of the cyclone covering the northern portions of Lake Superior. An extension of moderate smoke can be seen NW of the cyclone where westerly and Nwly flow not affected by the cyclonic flow. British Columbia/NW Washington: Dense smoke from the numerous fires in the central mountains of BC is mainly drifting to the S with a small extension of thin to moderate smoke from the furthest NE fires in BC extending NE to connect up with the moderate smoke described above in C. Canada. This southerly smoke area is much more dense and is affected by the Nely flow on the NW side of weak shortwave trof over the stovepipe of ID. This is pulling moderate to dense smoke across the Puget Sound and the Olympic Peninsula with thin smoke covering the Cascades and central arid zones of WA. E Canada: A pocket of thin to moderately dense smoke can be seen SE of a frontal boundary across S Quebec... placing the smoke from the Georgian Bay across extreme S Quebec to the mouth of the St. Lawrence Seaway. This smoke is from the Saskatchewan fires as well. Alaska/Yukon Territory: An area of thin smoke was seen across central AK from Nome to central Yukon Territory and to Big Bear Lake in NW Northwest Territories. This smoke is remaining north of the spine of the Rockies and Alaska Range...likely as it is low to mid level smoke. Origins the smoke are from fires in E Siberia that have drifted over the Arctic Ocean and is shearing out E to W across AK but is moving SE across Yukon and NW Territories. Gallina 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