DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0250Z August 4, 2014
SMOKE: Canada/U.S: Large wildfire complexes continue to burn in Northwest Territories near Great Slave Lake, spreading into northern Saskatchewan. These wildfires are producing enormous amounts of smoke, currently moving eastward over NW Territories, Nunavut, northern Alberta and northern Saskatchewan. Through Canada, smoke from these wildfires are affecting NW Territories, Alberta, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, Hudson Bay, Labrador, and farther north into the northern latitudes. Most of this smoke is light to heavy in density, with the heaviest smoke focused over northern Canada. Smoke from these wildfires have also tracked into the U.S, affecting central and eastern U.S. The farthest extent of the light density smoke in the U.S is seen south into Texas/Louisiana, to the northeast over the Tennessee Valley, Ohio Valley, western portions of the Mid-Atlantic and much of the Northeast. Moderate density smoke is visible over the northern Plains, most of the Mississippi Valley, Tennessee Valley, Ohio Valley, Great Lakes region, and much of the Northeast. Heavy density smoke is visible over Montana, western North Dakota, and Wyoming. British Columbia/Alberta: Light to heavy density smoke is visible moving eastward, currently visible over British Columbia and Alberta. This smoke is associated with multiple large wildfires occurring through British Columbia. Northwestern U.S: Extremely thick smoke is visible moving northward over far northern California, extending to the northeast over Oregon, southern Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. This area of smoke is associated with multiple wildfires occurring in northern California. Washington State: Multiple wildfires are producing light to heavy density smoke, moving to the northeast over Washington and reaching southern British Columbia. 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