DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1745Z August 16, 2012
US: Impressive amounts of moderate to dense smoke were visible this morning stretching from the West Coast to the Great Lakes region. Dense smoke covered Kansas/southeast Nebraska/northern Arkansas/southern Iowa, while moderately-dense smoke extended from the Oregon/Pacific Ocean through Idaho/Wyoming/Utah/Colorado across the central plains and into Indiana. The majority of this remnant smoke can be attributed to the wildfires located in the northwestern states that continue to shed immense amounts of smoke. Furthermore, light-density smoke was visible across most of the US, including southern Mississippi Delta up to the Great Lakes, due to strong westerly flow behind the potent cold frontal system in the Ohio Valley. Canada: Mainly light-density smoke was present across many of the central and eastern provinces of Canada this morning extending as far east as Quebec/Northwest Passages. Additionally, a small strip of medium-density smoke was visible over eastern Ontario. The thin-to-moderately dense remnant smoke is likely attributed to wildfires in northern British Columbia, with a possibility of Siberian smoke mixing in. -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