DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1745Z July 12, 2012
Canada: Large wildfires burning in northern Alberta/Northwest Territories, as well as growing wildfires in northern Saskatchewan, continue to emit a large amount of smoke that encompasses the majority of Canada. High-density smoke extends from the source fires eastward over the Hudson Bay, while moderate-density smoke extends southward into Saskatchewan and southeastward into Quebec and the northeast US. US: Fires burning in northern California, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana have resulted in a large mass of thin-density smoke that spans the northwest and central US. Moderately dense to thick smoke is located closer to the fires over northern California, southern Idaho, eastern Oregon, and western Montana. The US is also affected by the smoke emitted from fires burning in Canada. Moderate-density smoke has pushed southward from Saskatchewan into North Dakota and northern Minnesota, and high-density smoke has pushed southward from Quebec, and extends from northern Michigan to Maine. -LP Earlier this Morning: Alaska: A ring of mainly medium-density smoke was visible across northern British Columbia, wrapped around a low pressure system, moving eastward across northern Alberta. Thin-density smoke extended northward from the low into eastern Alaska. This smoke could possibly be a combination of smoke from Siberian fires as well as from the multiple wildfires in Alberta. -Vogt 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