DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1430Z July 31, 2006.
Northern California/Pacific Northwest/Idaho/Montana/Southern Alberta/Southern Saskatchewan: Several large fires have been burning through the night and have left a broad area of smoke across much of the region. The smoke is mainly moving to the east except for southeast Oregon where it is moving to the northeast. The smoke thins out as it becomes further removed from the source fire but there are several areas where the smoke is dense. Dense smoke was seen over parts of Humboldt, Trinity and Siskiyou counties and near the confluence of Mendocino, Glenn and Lake counties in northern California, especially in the valleys. Smoke from the fires in these areas was also seen moving across south central into east central Oregon and this smoke was moderately dense. Locally dense smoke was also over northern Deschutes and western Jefferson counties Oregon. A large fire in Okanogan county Washington has produced dense smoke on the east slopes of the Cascades and in the valleys of the county. Moderately dense smoke extends east from the fire across the northern tier of counties in Washington and Idaho and reaching the Continental Divide. A fire in Glacier National Park east of the Continental Divide was producing a narrow plume of smoke extending 250 km to the east to southeast Hill county. A narrow plume of thin smoke was seen drifting down the northern California coast between Mendocino county and the Bay area. The origin of the smoke is not certain but is likely from the massive fires that have been burning in Russia. The Dakotas/Nebraska/Colorado: Numerous large fires continue to burn in the Nebraska Panhandle and have produced a large area of moderately dense to dense smoke over the region. The smoke covers the northeast quarter of Colorado, the entire Nebraska Panhandle the western half of South Dakota and much of North Dakota. The smoke over the Dakotas is mixed with cloud cover and gradually thins out in northern sections. The smoke is swirling in a clockwise direction centered over the central Nebraska Panhandle. Alaska/Northwestern Canada: Cloud cover over most of Alaska this morning is hindering smoke detection across the state. There does appear to be an area of thin smoke over the southwest Yukon Territory. Relatively clear skies over the western Northwest Territory reveal little in the way of significant smoke, although some very thin smoke is possible over the northwest portion of the Territory. The source region for this smoke could not be definitely determined, but it is most likely detached smoke from the cluster of fires burning around Great Slave Lake as well as from a few around Great Bear Lake. Central and Southern Plains: An area of thin smoke was seen extending from central Oklahoma north northeast across eastern Kansas and eastern Nebraska. This smoke was likely from fires that were burning last evening in central Texas. Eastern Gulf of Mexico/Florida/Western Atlantic Ocean: A broad area of moderately dense haze which is likely primarily Saharan dust was seen stretching across the central Gulf of Mexico, from about 90W eastward and south of 28N, the Florida peninsula and the northern Bahamas. An area of mixed haze and smoke covers much of the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey and extends eastward into the Atlantic mainly between 37N and 40N. This is likely a mix of haze from the stagnant airmass over the region and remnant smoke from the Western wildfires that has settled in over the region. New England/Quebec: An area of thin smoke was observed stretching from northwest to southeast from James Bay across southern Quebec and into New England and the Gulf of Maine. This smoke originated from the Western wildfires. Ruminski