DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0330Z August 26, 2011
Oregon/Montana/Wyoming/Idaho: Several wildfires in Oregon, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho are producing locally dense smoke that is observed moving east as thin density plumes this evening. Central Plains/Mississippi River Valley: An expansive area of smoke ranging from thin to very dense covers much of the central US. Thin density smoke stretches across the northern, central, and southern plains as well as the entire Mississippi Valley as far south and east as Alabama and Kentucky, respectively. Moderate density smoke mainly covers the upper and middle Mississippi Valley while dense smoke is observed only in the eastern Dakotas, Minnesota, and Iowa. This detached smoke has originated from numerous fires in Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana that have been burning over the past several days. Mid-Atlantic coast: Thin density remnant smoke from three fires in the northern North Carolina/southern Virginia area, including the Lateral West wildfire, can be seen ahead of a frontal boundary that is pushing eastward across Mid-Atlantic and Northeast U.S. today. The smoke is visible as thin, elongated plumes moving nearly due north. Central California: A large wildfire in central California is emitting moderate to very dense smoke that is covering much of the east central part of the state this evening. **DUST Southeast US: An aerosol primarily composed of dust is visible in the southeast US over southeast Georgia, the Florida panhandle, and the far eastern Gulf of Mexico. This dust is present to the west of Hurricane Irene and has likely been transported into the US by the cyclone. Ramirez THIS TEXT PRODUCT IS PRIMARILY INTENDED TO DESCRIBE SIGNIFICANT AREAS SMOKE ASSOCIATED WITH ACTIVE FIRES AND SMOKE WHICH HAS BECOME DETACHED FROM THE FIRES AND DRIFTED SOME DISTANCE AWAY FROM THE SOURCE FIRE..TYPICALLY OVER THE COURSE OF ONE OR MORE DAYS. AREAS OF BLOWING DUST ARE ALSO DESCRIBED. USERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO VIEW A GRAPHIC DEPICTION OF THESE AND OTHER PLUMES WHICH ARE LESS EXTENSIVE AND STILL ATTACHED TO THE SOURCE FIRE 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 ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS REGARDING THIS PRODUCT SHOULD BE SENT TO SSDFireTeam@noaa.gov