Wednesday, July 11, 2007

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0400Z July 12, 2007

Updated to include additional smoke detection over British
Columbia/Alberta Provinces as well as northern Mexico and southeastern
Texas.

Montana:
The Fool Creek fire is producing moderately dense smoke that is moving
due east (though an initial burst of smoke started moving SE making
a and L shape) covering most of Teton county as well as the northern
Cascade county including Great Falls
A new fire south of Fool Creek along the Flathead, Powell, and Lewis
and Clark counties is producing thin to moderate smoke that is moving
due east along the Teton and Lewis and Clark county line as far as the
Cascade county line.

Wyoming:
A new fire at the upper reaches of the Green River in northern Sublette
county around the intersection of the Wind River and Gros Ventre Ranges
is producing very dense smoke that is becoming convective in nature due
to the incredible heat being generated from the fire. The smoke is moving
SE over the Wind Rivers as far Muddy Gap in NW Carbon county.

Idaho:
An unnamed but prolonged fire in the Salmon River Valley near the fork
of the Chamberlain River continues to produce very dense smoke that that
typically remains in the valley but there is some drift between SSW to
ENE directions (no more than 20km from the source).  The smoke covers
SE Idaho county and NW Lemhi county.
The Jim Sage fire along the Utah boarder is producing moderate to
dense smoke though it is difficult to see through over running clouds.
It appears to be moving due east along the boarder about 50km as far as
the WY state line.

Oregon:
The dense smoke from the Egley Complex is being obscured by a band of
high clouds, though it was seen earlier extending mainly NW but being
sheared toward the SW and N.

NW US:
Smoke from today and prior day's burning across NV/CA/OR/ID has produced
a thin to moderately dense area of smoke that extends across a large
portion of the NW US.  The smoke has been drifting north ahead of a shear
axis from a old upper level cyclone offshore of OR that extends along the
CA/OR/NV/ID/UT state line (or 42N) into SW Wyoming.  Because of the shear
axis and weak vortex rollup areas...convection and general cloudiness
exists in the area of smoke, though the smoke is evident in the breaks
across ALL of OR and ID S of 45N, with a small portion of SW WY covered
(SW of the dense smoke plume described in the WY section).

California:
The Zaca fire in SW CA has recently become very active again with dense
smoke beginning to move NW over the coastal range with a bit beginning
to turn NE into the Valley.  Low level ground smoke is drifting out in
all directions (except for south) including eastward along the Sierra
Madre Range into ext. SW Kern county.


Alaska:
Most of the fires areas along and north of the Yukon River have been
producing smoke over the past few days, but thunderstorms and other
broken high clouds are obscuring most of the fires themselves. However,
a small patch of moderately dense smoke most likely from the Canadian
fires around the eastern side of the Great Slave Lake and SE of Great Bear
Lake, can be seen moving west along the coastline around the MacKenzie
River Delta, MacKenzie Bay and up to Liverpool Bay.

A patch of thin smoke most likely from Siberian fires appears to be
moving E around St. Lawerence island and S of the eastern tip of Russia.

Northwest Territories:
A few large fires around Taltson River SE of Great Slave Lake are
producing moderately dense smoke that is moving north a bit then turning
eastward and cover an area between 62-63N and 106.5-108W.

Manitoba:
A fire along Rat Lake in central Manitoba is producing very dense smoke
that is moving due south and extends to around Wabowden and Cross Lake
just N of Lake Winnipeg.

British Columbia/Alberta:
Patches of mainly thin smoke became visible with the favorable lower
sun angle just before sunset moving east across western and central
British Columbia as well as just east of the Rockies in southern Alberta
Province. This smoke is believed to be primarily leftover from the western
US fires which was transported northward off the Pacific Northwest coast
then northeastward and eventually eastward around the top of the upper
level ridge and into southwestern Canada.

Southern Texas/Northern Mexico:
An area of thin smoke elongated from north to south was visible over the
western Gulf of Mexico moving northwestward and inland across northern
Mexico as well as far southern Texas. This smoke was produced mainly by
fires burning for quite some time in the Mexican states of Tabasco and
Campeche and was transported to the northwest across the Gulf of Mexico.

Gallina/JS


 


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.