DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0245Z August 3, 2014
SMOKE: Canada/U.S: A large amount of fire complexes continue to burn throughout Northwest Territories surrounding Great Slave Lake, as well as northern Saskatchewan, producing light to heavy density smoke. Most of the newly produced smoke is moving eastward, over NW Territories, Alberta, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and western portions of the Hudson Bay. Smoke from these wildfires has descended southward into the U.S. over the northern Plains. In the U.S, the heaviest density smoke associated with the Canadian wildfires is visible over Montana and Idaho. Light to moderate density smoke extends in the U.S. through the northern/central Plains, upper/middle Mississippi Valley, as far south as Oklahoma/Arkansas/Tennessee, and extends to the northeast over the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes region, and northern fringes of the Northeast. This area of light to moderate density smoke extends into Canada over southern Ontario and southern Quebec. Eastern Canada: A detached area of light to moderate density remnant smoke is seen over eastern portions of the Hudson Bay, northern Quebec, far northern Labrador, and extending as far northward as the Baffin Bay. British Columbia: Wildfires occurring in central British Columbia are producing light to heavy density smoke, currently moving eastward/north-eastward into Alberta and combining with the broader smoke plume originating from NW Territories. Pacific Northwest: A large area of light to heavy density smoke is visible over southern British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, northern Utah, and western Wyoming. This smoke originates from wildfires through southern British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and northern California. DUST: Gulf of Mexico/Southeastern U.S: An area of Saharan dust is visible in northern parts of the Gulf of Mexico, along the coastline of the Florida panhandle, Alabama, and Mississippi. The dust extends northward over the Florida panhandle and into Alabama, but the extent of the dust overland is difficult to discern due to cloud cover over the region. Heeps THIS TEXT PRODUCT IS PRIMARILY INTENDED TO DESCRIBE SIGNIFICANT AREAS OF 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.ospo.noaa.gov/Products/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