DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1745Z August 20, 2012
Western US: An area of moderately dense smoke was visible across the northwestern US into Colorado/Wyoming and parts of the central/southern Plains. Some of this thicker smoke was intermixed with clouds over the Rockies region but could be seen briefly in the cloud breaks. Overall, this area of remnant smoke can be attributed to the wildfires that continue to burn across the northwestern states. Thin-density smoke extended further across the US and into western Gulf of Mexico along the back edge of the large-amplitude trough. Canada: Moderately-dense remnant smoke was present across the northern portions of British Columbia/Alberta/Saskatchewan/Manitoba this morning. This smoke can be linked to the wildfires that continue to burn across northern British Columbia/northern Alberta. Thin remnant smoke from these fires has spread northward towards the Northwest Passages as well as southward into the Dakotas. -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