DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THRU 1600Z JULY 28, 2005
Alaska/NW Canada: Much of the Yukon valley of central Alaska remains covered in thick smoke from the numerous fires across the region. Smoke extends from the central Yukon Territory westward across Alaska and is mainly moving to the west. The smoke area fans out across western Alaska and extends off the northwest coast into the Chukchi Sea and is also being drawn into southwest Alaska over the Taylor Mts around the back side of a deep low pressure system in the Gulf of Alaska. An area of moderately thick smoke is seen from just west of Great Slave Lake extending to the southeast to the eastern end of Lake Athabasca in northern Saskatchewan. Oregon: Moderately thick smoke is still being actively produced from a fire northeast of Ashland in Jackson county was seen drifting both to the east and west but was mainly confined to Jackson county. Wyoming: A small area of smoke was seen drifting to the east across central Wyoming. It was detached from the fire source which is believed to have been in Lemhi county in eastern Idaho. Dust and Sand: A large area of Saharan dust and sand can be seen across the Gulf of Mexico into the far NE portion of the Caribbean Sea. Specifically, the area is of thin to moderate intensity and extends from halfway between Corpus Christi and Brownsville, TX to Pinar del Rio and the Isle of Youth in Cuba south across the Yucatan channel and covers the northern 2/3rds of the Yucatan peninsula (from Champoton to Chetumal) and back across the gulf to around Tampico Mexico. Ruminski/Gallina