DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0245Z May 07, 2015
Illinois/Indiana/Ohio: An area of aerosol is currently swirling across Illinois extending into Indiana and Ohio. The aerosol is believed to be a combination of remnant smoke and sulfates; while much of the western portion of the aerosol specifically over Illinois is believed to consist mostly of remnant smoke from fires occurring in the southern U.S, much of the eastern portion of the aerosol is likely to consist of mostly sulfates. Southeastern Ontario/Southern Quebec/Northeastern U.S: The area of remnant smoke and dust mentioned earlier stretching from south central Canada into the northeastern U.S has continued to move southward into far southeastern Ontario/far southern Quebec and into the northeastern U.S. extending out eastward over the Gulf of Maine and southern Nova Scotia. An embedded area of moderate density smoke is seen over new York/Vermont/New Hampshire/southern Maine and over the Gulf of Maine. California/Southwestern Nevada/Southern Arizona: An area of aerosol remains drifting slowly to the south over central/southern California extending to the east into southern Arizona as well as into southwestern Nevada. This aerosol is believed to mostly consist of remnant Asian smoke/dust. The full extent of this aerosol is difficult to discern with the cloud coverage across much of the western U.S. Southern California: An small area of blowing dust is seen across far southern California due to relatively strong winds near the surface. This area is to the south of the Salton Sea, originating close to the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Northwest Canada: An area of aerosols remains over Alberta and Northwest Territories drifting eastward into northwestern Saskatchewan. This aerosol is believed to consist of Asian smoke. Heeps From earlier: South Central to Southeast Canada/Northeast US: A plume consisting of remnant smoke and dust is seen stretching eastward from south central Canada east and southeast across portions of Ontario/Quebec and the Northeastern US states out across southern Nova Scotia and the Northern Atlantic. The smoke component is believed to be a mixture from fires in Manitoba/Saskatchewan/North Central US (mostly over south central Canada) and remnant smoke from Asian fire activity (seen from just south of Hudson Bay to the North Atlantic). California/Nevada/southeast Oregon/Idaho/Montana: A area of aerosol extends northeastward across central California/Nevada and becomes more diffuse over southeast Oregon/Idaho/western Montana. Some of this aerosol is thought to be thin remnant Asian smoke particularly over south/central California. It is believed that if clouds were not over east Montana/southern Saskatchewan, that this area of aerosols would connect with the plume seen over the rest of southern Canada. Missouri/Illinois/East Iowa: An area of thin remnant smoke is seen stretching north from extreme northeast Arkansas across Missouri/Illinois/eastern Iowa. The source is likely fires yesterday in Arkansas/Louisiana/southern Missouri/Mississippi/Alabama. Mid-Atlantic: An area of aerosol thought to be remnant smoke was seen over portions of West Virginia, Pennsylvana, Virginia, Maryland, Deleware, and New Jersey along a frontal boundary. The aerosol stretches off the Mid-Atlantic coast and disappears beneath clouds. Western Gulf of Mexico: Thin to moderately dense smoke is seen over the west/southwest Gulf. Numerous fires in the Yucatan Peninsula yesterday along with oil rigs in the Bay of Campeche are the cause of this smoke which is moving to the northwest. Northwest Canada: Aerosol that is thought to be remnant Asian smoke is seen over northwest Canada, from north Alberta to northwest Nunavut. Sheffler 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