DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1432Z June 20, 2010
Central Canada/North Dakota: A large area of thin to moderately dense smoke covers nearly all of the prairie provinces of Canada from the large fires of N Saskatchewan, N Alberta and those SW of Great Slave Lake over the past few days. The smoke covers the southern 2/3rds of Alberta, all of Saskatchewan and Manitoba and extends across the northern 1/3 of Ontario cross far south Hudson Bay, N James Bay and about 200 km into N Central Quebec near Lac Bienville. Thin smoke also extends into the boarding states of N MT (particularly deep along the front slopes of the Rockies) across extreme N ND and covering the Arrowhead of MN and western portion of UP of MI and SW Lake Superior. NE/E Canada...Canadian Maritimes: Thin smoke is moving in an arc from N to S just off the coast of Labrador toward the E under strong westerly flow. A pocket of moderately dense smoke is trapped in an anticyclone SE of Nova Scotia and due S of Newfoundland covering an area from 50-60W between 40-45N... clouds obscure the area between the two described plumes but occasional breaks give hints that the areas are connected. US Eastern Seaboard: A large area of moderately dense haze/pollution/ozone can be seen along the ME to VA coastline and extending out to sea in a width of about 500km from NW to SE as it moves due E. The area of smog/haze then goes ashore to cover the coastal counties of NC/SC/and SE GA. Central Plains: An area of thin smoke can be seen as an 'L' along the length of the OK panhandle then bending northward across the far E of CO to the NE line before it is too difficult to discern with the underlaying low stratus deck over NEB and NE CO. This smoke is mostly associated with output from the Tecolote fire in N Cent. NM, though additional contributions could come from other small fires in S CO (Medano) and SW NM/SE AZ...(Horseshoe, Aspen, additional unnamed fires). Please see the graphics at the web addresses below for additional smoke still attached to active fires in New Mexico, Arizona, NW Territories, and British Columbia Gallina 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.osdpd.noaa.gov/ml/land/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