DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1415Z July 11, 2011
Central Canada: A large area remnant smoke from NWT and Alberta wilderness fires that has been trapped in the polar region of northern Canada continues to cover the same polar regions of NWT, continental Nunavut and northern Saskatchewan, Manitoba and into the central portions of Hudson Bay. However, the cutoff cyclone currently over NW Ontario has picked up speed and a post-cyclone jet is aiding transport of thin into central and south eastern Saskatchewan and central and southern Manitoba nearing 50N. Small pockets of moderately dense smoke can be seen drifting south across Lake Athabasca from recent emission (likely last night) from the fires of S NWT (SE of Great Slave Lake) and N Alberta fires. Ontario/Minnesota/Lake Superior: Thin smoke conglomerated from multiple sources: Las Conchas/Pancheco fires in Northern NM; the Canadian wilderness fires of NWT/Alberta (from several days ago) and new large fires in W Ontario an is currently located in the southern and western sides of the large cutoff low in NW Ontario. The thin smoke is concentrated along wind shift/frontal boundaries...one extends from around Lake Nipigon toward the SW into E MN and over the western portions of Lake Superior... the second line extends across SW Ontario into Manitoba along the southern portions of Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba. Upper Ohio River Valley and Lower Great Lakes: Thin to moderate smoke from the Las Conchas/Pancheco fires (from 2 days ago) can be tracked moving due east in a 200 wide (E-W) band extending N-S from Detroit to Knoxville, TN covering W OH, Central E KY and NE TN. There appears to be a slight clearing toward the E until a second pocket of smoke is seen over E OH and WV...just moving into PA. Lastly, a small 200km long (SW-NE) by 50 wide sliver of thin/moderate smoke from similar source (though possible contributions from W Ontario fires) covers much of Lake Ontario and far NW NY near Rochester,NY. SE US Atlantic Coast: Moderately dense smoke from the Honey Prairie fire in SE GA can be seen covering much of coastal GA and SC with an extension into the Atlantic over the Gulf Stream region maybe out to 76W between 30N and 34N. Gallina THIS TEXT PRODUCT IS PRIMARILY INTENDED TO DESCRIBE SIGNIFICANT AREAS SMOKE ASSOCIATED WITH ACTIVE FIRES AND SMOKE WHICH HAS BECOME DETACHED FROM THE FIRES AND DRIFTED SOME DISTANCE AWAY FROM THE SOURCE FIRE..TYPICALLY OVER THE COURSE OF ONE OR MORE DAYS. AREAS OF BLOWING DUST ARE ALSO DESCRIBED. USERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO VIEW A GRAPHIC DEPICTION OF THESE AND OTHER PLUMES WHICH ARE LESS EXTENSIVE AND STILL ATTACHED TO THE SOURCE FIRE 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 ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS REGARDING THIS PRODUCT SHOULD BE SENT TO SSDFireTeam@noaa.gov