DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1745Z July 18, 2012
Northwest Territories: A small area of thin-density smoke was visible over the western Northwest Territories in between copious amounts of clouds. This smoke could be originating from fires in Siberia. Manitoba/Ontario/Nunavut/Quebec: A large area of thin-to-medium density smoke, originating from the numerous wildfires that are burning across Alberta/Saskatchewan/Manitoba, could be seen strewn across the eastern Canadian provinces this morning in between two separate storm systems. The main area of the medium-density smoke was located in western Nunavut/Manitoba. A thin ribbon of this medium-density smoke, as well as a ribbon of thick-density smoke, extended south and eastward across the northern fringe of the Great Lakes region. The thin smoke encompassed the remainder of the area, extending as far eastward as New Brunswick. Clouds associated with the two storm systems hindered additional smoke detection in the region. Central/Eastern US: Thin-density smoke could be seen across the central US states, upstream of the high pressure system dominating the east coast. Additional thin smoke could be seen wrapping around the north side of the ridge in the northeast/parts of New England, and extending out into the Atlantic Ocean. This smoke is likely a mix of remnant smoke from wildfires in Canada as well as from agricultural burns in the US. -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