Thursday, July 27, 2006

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0145Z July 28, 2006.

Large Scale Smoke Plumes:
Eastern US Seaboard:
An area of mixed haze and very thin smoke from prior week's burning in
Saskatchewan/Manitoba fires that has drifted into the region from Nova
Scotia to Cape Cod to NJ, to the Delmarva and the Outer Banks of NC.
most smoke is ahead of the line of thunderstorms.

Northern US Rockies/Southern Canadian Rockies/High Plains:
Smoke from today's and yesterday's burning from the Tripod fire along
the Eastern slopes of the Washington Cascades has been moving nearly due
E...with a slight wiggle or backward 'S' shape due to increased mid to
upper level jet streak winds.  The most dense area is described below
in the Washington section but is nearest the fire.  A moderate to dense
plume continues from the Canadian/Washington/Idaho border to across
all of SE BC...S Alberta and SW Saskatchewan (north of MT/ND border)
all south of 51 degrees North latitude.  The first bend of the S occurs
here with a higher density of smoke that back tracks across N MT between
the border and 48N back to the next curve in the 'S' in central Lewis and
Clark county...where the highest concentration of smoke resides (minus
near the source fire).  The last section of the 'S' extends due east
along 47N with thin smoke over the front ranges of the Rockies eventually
reaching moderate density over the high plains of E MT in S McCone county.
A very thin area of smoke from 2 day's prior smoke can be seen over all
of North Dakota...but is only visible due to the low sun angle.

N California/Oregon:
Further details of smoke can be read in the Oregon and California
sections... but an area of thin smoke can be seen between the main
areas of ongoing dense smoke spewing from the intensifying fires at
this hour. The line of thin smoke extends from NW CA in Del Norte county
across the S Cascade counties in OR to the active fires across Central
Oregon...but the area is wide enough to cover all but extreme SE OR.
A very small area of SE WA and Central ID area affected from this large
scale area of thin smoke.

Individual Fire Smoke Plumes:
Northern Quebec:
A new fire along the Le Grande Riviere just east of Chisasibi is
producing dense smoke that is moving south along the coast and is about
25km wide and currently extends 85km south about the same latitude as
North Twin Island.

Northern Alberta/N Saskatchewan:
A thin area of smoke from yesterday's burning drifted across N Alberta
where it remained nearly all day and currently resides from the western
tip of Lake Athabasca to just south of the Western extension of the
Great Slave Lake). This area is currently remaining stationary.
Today's smoke from the fires south of Lake Athabasca in N Saskatchewan
area producing moderately dense smoke that is moving ESE very slowly
and extend no more than 70km from the source regions.

Northern Yukon and NW Northwest Territories:
A very narrow NW-SE line of smoke is moving SW ahead of a jet streak that
moved smoke over the pole that originally moved NW from fires along the
Mackenzie river from last weekend. The line is no more than 20km wide
and extends between Keller Lake in the SE to north of Goz Pass in the
Selwyn Mtns.

Texas:
A fire near Spring Creek in San Saba county is producing thin smoke that
extends NNW 100km to Mills county, TX and is about 15km wide.

NW Nebraska:
Two fires in the White River Valley between Fort Robinson and Harrison
in Sioux county. A third fire in central Dawes county near Whitney.
All three are producing dense smoke that is combining into a larger plume
that is affecting nearly all area between the White and Nebraska rivers
W of US-385 and E of SR-29.

South Dakota:
A fire near the Bad Lands between Scenic and Sheep Mtn. Peak has produced
thin smoke that is blowing SEward across Shannon/Jackson/ Bennett counties
in SD and is over N Cherry county in NE as well.

Wyoming:
A fire along the Guernsey Res. in E Platte county is producing a plume of
moderately dense smoke that is about 15km wide and moving SE.  The plume
has covered nearly all of Goshen county S of US-26 and extends into NE
just NW of Kimball.
The Little Venus fire in southern Park county is producing a narrow
plume of dense smoke that is moving due east and extends to US-20 near
Worland in Washakie county.

Utah:
The South Water Hollow fire just north of exit 85 on I-70 is producing
a moderate to dense smoke plume of smoke that is moving due South and
extends to near the AZ state line near Big Water, UT.  The plume is
about 60km wide.
A fire near the town of Promontory on the north side of the Great Salt
Lake is producing a fanning plume of thin to moderately dense smoke that
extends between S and SSE covering much of the eastern side of the Lake
and extends to the southern extents of the lake.  The plume extends east
as far as I-15 and the slopes of the Wasatch Mtns.
Montana:
A new fire along the Big Belt Mtns. (Broadwater/Meagher county line is
producing a 10km wide line of dense smoke that is moving due east and
extends to Harlowton in central Wheatland county.
A narrow (10km wide) plume of dense smoke extends due east from the Gash
Creek fire along the Idaho/Montana state line. The smoke extends into
Powell county.

Idaho:
The Dunce Creek Fire near the Big Fork of the Salmon River along the
Valley/Idaho county line is producing dense smoke that extends to the
ENE to the Southern tip of Ravalli county in Mtn. The plume is about
10-15km wide. This area of dense smoke is due to an intensification of
the fire over the last 2 hours...but prior to that it was producing thin
smoke that extrends further E to near I-15 in SW MT.
A new fire N of Stanley (NW of SR-75) after a recent intensification is
producing dense smoke but a moderately dense smoke plume extends due E
to near Challis along US-93.
A fire in the Sawtooth Wilderness Area in NE Boise county is producing
a thin to moderately dense plume of smoke that extends along SR-75 to
near Clayton, ID.
The Foster Gulch Complex along the Snake River in Adams county is
producing dense smoke that extends NE into Idaho county.

Washington:
The Tin Pan and Flick fires area producing moderately dense smoke that
is remaining very low level in the valleys on the eastern slopes of the
Cascades...and fanning out through them to US-97 and as far south as
the US-97/US-2 intersection.
The Tripod fire and a new fire about 20km north of it are producing
a remarkable amount of very dense smoke with pyrocumulonimbus clouds
occasionally being produced.  The extremely dense smoke extends ENE to
the Canadian/US boarder to about the Idaho state line.  Dense smoke from
this mornings and yesterday's smoke is described in detail above in the
large scale fire area section.

Oregon:
The Black Crater Complex near the Three Sister Volcanic Complex is again
producing very dense smoke that is moving NE.  In the lower levels the
smoke is fanning out to the SE.  This along with the very dense smoke
from the Maxwell fire along US-26 is covering nearly all of northern and
northeastern OR E of the Cascade Range and north of US-20.    This is
further described in the large scale smoke section in combination with
the N California fires.

California:
Multiple complexes over NW California is producing very dense smoke
that covers all of NW California N of SR-299 and W of I-15. This smoke
is drifting slowly NW then N into Oregon...and is then described in
further detail in the large scale smoke section.
An unnamed fire just SSW of Goose Lake in far NE CA is producing
moderately dense smoke in a narrow line (10km wide) that is moving NE
into S OR near the desert flats near Andrews in Harney county.

Nevada:
Extremely dense smoke from the Winters fire Complex and the Bosco fire
is covering all of Elko county N of I-80 to the Utah boarder. There is
also a new fire in the Independence Range that is aiding this smoke plume.
An area of dense smoke from the Iowa fire in central Lander county is
moving NE across N Eureka county to I-80 near Elko.

Gallina


 


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.