DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0200Z August 30, 2011
Eastern US: A large area of light smoke covers the east coast from southern Virginia south along the coast into northern Florida. From Florida, it continues west into the Gulf of Mexico, reaching the Texas coastline. The light smoke is likely remnant smoke from the continued fires in the northwest mixed with agricultural burns in the lower Mississippi Valley. Within the area of light smoke over the Gulf of Mexico is moderately dense smoke from fires in southern Louisiana. Northwest US: Numerous fires in north-central Oregon and south-central Washington State are generating light to dense smoke which is moving to the east reaching the Idaho border. Idaho: Blowing dust is originating along the Butte and Jefferson County line. The dust is moving to the northeast and extending into northwestern Wyoming. Fires in central Idaho continue to emit moderately dense to dense smoke which is traveling to the east. California: Later this evening a fire broke out in eastern Imperial County. The fire rapidly began generating moderately dense to dense smoke which is moving to the north. Earlier: Northern Gulf of Mexico/Northern Florida: An elongated area of what appears to be mostly smoke, possibly mixed in with other aerosols and Saharan dust, continues to extend from the northern and central portions of the Gulf of Mexico, through northern Florida, and northeastward into the western Atlantic along the US mid-Atlantic states. This remnant smoke has predominantly originated from the wildfires in the Montana/Idaho region. Louisiana: A large marsh fire south of Lake Pontchartrain produced moderately to very dense smoke overnight and this morning which moved generally to the west and northwest, over metropolitan New Orleans. Remnant smoke from this fire is also visible in the northern and central Gulf. Texas/Oklahoma/Kansas An aerosol which is believed to be remnant smoke from the wildfires in the Pacific Northwest was observed moving southward across the Central Plains. Clouds in the region were hindering smoke detection as well. Pacific Northwest: Fires in Oregon continue to emit smoke that covers much of central Oregon this morning. The remnant smoke is generally moving to the east and is expected to reach the Idaho border by evening. Salemi/Myrga 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