DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0315Z August 21, 2010
Southwestern Canada to Eastern Canada/Northeastern US/Western Atlantic: The situation is very similar to the narrative written earlier today. Smoke from the ongoing large fires in British Columbia Province of southwestern Canada continues to cover a very large area with thin density smoke extending from British Columbia eastward over much of south central Canada to southeastern Canada. Some of the leading edge of the thinner smoke had also moved over a portion of the northern tier of the US, especially over the region from Montana to the Dakotas and Minnesota as well as northern New England. Embedded moderately dense to dense smoke extends from British Columbia eastward to western Ontario Province. Some of the moderately dense smoke also has spread northeastward around an area of low pressure into central Canada around Hudson Bay. An additional large swath of thin smoke likely leftover from the British Columbia fires extends from the Great Lakes region eastward and southeastward over the Middle Atlantic states and a portion of the Northeast including southern New England to off the coast. The area extends slightly more to the south than earlier today, covering most of North Carolina into northern South Carolina. Cloudiness covers the region where large fires existed recently over northern Saskatchewan Province of west central Canada. Some of the smoke from Saskatchewan Province southeastward to northern New England may have some contribution from the Saskatchewan fires. Northern California/Oregon/Idaho/Montana/Western Wyoming: A swath of very thin smoke was visible late this afternoon/early this evening moving northeastward and inland over northern California, a good portion of Oregon, central Idaho, and into Montana. This thin smoke was believed to be leftover from the British Columbia fires and was transported southward over the Pacific and eventually eastward and inland. Other fires with smoke plumes were scattered over the this region as well including a very large dense plume moving to the northeast from a fire along the Nevada-Idaho border. See the web links below for additional graphical information on these fires. JS 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