Tuesday, July 21, 2009

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1400Z July 21, 2009

Oregon/Idaho:
A ribbon of medium density smoke is moving through western Oregon
into Idaho.  This is likely from the Tennant Fire in Siskiyou County, CA.

Western Canada/Northern Plains:
A large area of haze can be seen extending from the northern extent of
the Yukon Territory and central Northwest Territories, through Alberta
and Saskatchewan into Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.  This area
is probably remnant smoke from the wildfires in Alaska.

Eastern Canada/Upper Great Lakes Region:
Another area of haze which is also likely from the wildfires in Alaska
can be seen covering the majority of the Ontario and Quebec Territories.
This area also extends to the south effecting Michigan, Illinois and
Indiana.

Alaska:
An area of dense smoke remains in northern Alaska as well as smaller
areas of moderately dense smoke in central Alaska.  Fires which have been
active through the night are contributing to the density of these areas.

-Salemi

More information on the areas of smoke described above as well as others
can be found at the locations listed below.

THE FORMAT OF THIS TEXT PRODUCT IS BEING MODIFIED. IT WILL NO LONGER
DESCRIBE THE VARIOUS PLUMES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH ACTIVE FIRES. THESE
PLUMES ARE DEPICTED IN VARIOUS GRAPHIC FORMATS ON OUR WEB SITE:

JPEG:   http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/FIRE/hms.html
GIS:    http://www.firedetect.noaa.gov/viewer.htm
KML:    http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/FIRE/kml.html

THIS TEXT PRODUCT WILL CONTINUE TO DESCRIBE SIGNIFICANT AREAS OF SMOKE
WHICH HAVE BECOME DETACHED FROM AND DRIFTED SOME DISTANCE AWAY FROM THE
SOURCE FIRE, TYPICALLY OVER THE COURSE OF ONE OR MORE DAYS. IT WILL ALSO
STILL INCLUDE DESCRIPTIONS OF BLOWING DUST.

ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS REGARDING THESE CHANGES OR THE SMOKE TEXT
PRODUCT IN GENERAL SHOULD BE SENT TO SSDFireTeam@noaa.gov






 


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.