Monday, August 29, 2011

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0200Z August 30, 2011

Eastern US:
A large area of light smoke covers the east coast from southern
Virginia south along the coast into northern Florida.  From Florida,
it continues west into the Gulf of Mexico, reaching the Texas coastline.
The light smoke is likely remnant smoke from the continued fires in the
northwest mixed with agricultural burns in the lower Mississippi Valley.
Within the area of light smoke over the Gulf of Mexico is moderately
dense smoke from fires in southern Louisiana.

Northwest US:
Numerous fires in north-central Oregon and south-central Washington
State are generating light to dense smoke which is moving to the east
reaching the Idaho border.

Idaho:
Blowing dust is originating along the Butte and Jefferson County line.
The dust is moving to the northeast and extending into northwestern
Wyoming.  Fires in central Idaho continue to emit moderately dense to
dense smoke which is traveling to the east.

California:
Later this evening a fire broke out in eastern Imperial County.  The fire
rapidly began generating moderately dense to dense smoke which is moving
to the north.

Earlier:
Northern Gulf of Mexico/Northern Florida:
An elongated area of what appears to be mostly smoke, possibly mixed
in with other aerosols and Saharan dust, continues to extend from the
northern and central portions of the Gulf of Mexico, through northern
Florida, and northeastward into the western Atlantic along the US
mid-Atlantic states. This remnant smoke has predominantly originated
from the wildfires in the Montana/Idaho region.

Louisiana:
A large marsh fire south of Lake Pontchartrain produced moderately to
very dense smoke overnight and this morning which moved generally to
the west and northwest, over metropolitan New Orleans.  Remnant smoke
from this fire is also visible in the northern and central Gulf.

Texas/Oklahoma/Kansas
An aerosol which is believed to be remnant smoke from the wildfires in the
Pacific Northwest was observed moving southward across the Central Plains.
Clouds in the region were hindering smoke detection as well.

Pacific Northwest:
Fires in Oregon continue to emit smoke that covers much of central Oregon
this morning.  The remnant smoke is generally moving to the east and is
expected to reach the Idaho border by evening.

Salemi/Myrga

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

 


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.