DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1715Z July 25, 2015
Smoke: Alaska/Yukon Territory: Wildfires in central Alaska are emitting moderately dense to dense smoke this morning which in addition to remnant smoke produced by these fires over the past day or two is moving to the east across the Yukon Territory. Some thin smoke is also seen along and just offshore the panhandle of Alaska as smoke is drawn southward by a storm system along the coast of British Columbia. Thin smoke analyzed over the North Slope of Alaska is likely from a separate source...probably originating from Siberian wildfires that has drifted across the Arctic. Canada/Northern US: A large area of light smoke exists over north and central/south central Canada, including Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario as well as the northern US states of Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the U.P. of Michigan. Small areas of moderately dense smoke are analyzed over north Manitoba and Ontario. While some of this smoke could still be remaining from previous wildfires in western Canada, much of the smoke is believed to have been transported from wildfires burning in Siberia. A few fires burning yesterday near Great Slave Lake in northwest Canada and fires in the northwestern US also have contributed to the smoke mixture in the atmosphere. Western US: Two pockets of thin remnant smoke are seen this morning over parts of the Northwest US. One patch of smoke extends from southwest Oregon northeastward across the central part of the state. The other patch of thin smoke is present across central Idaho and southwest Montana. Siberian wildfires are the probable source for both areas of smoke though the area of smoke over Idaho/southwest Montana may be mixed with smoke particles from Washington/Oregon/north California fires. Dust: Saharan dust is present across the far western portion of the Gulf of Mexico and extends north across much of Texas/southeast New Mexico/Oklahoma/west Arkansas/Kansas/central Nebraska/west Missouri. This dust created a hazy looking aerosol, especially across the Southern Plains. Sheffler THIS TEXT PRODUCT IS PRIMARILY INTENDED TO DESCRIBE SIGNIFICANT AREAS OF 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.ospo.noaa.gov/Products/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