DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0200Z May 14, 2015
SMOKE: Western Canada/Central Canada: A stationary area of residual smoke continues to seen throughout most of western and central Canada. This area of residual smoke covers SE Yukon, the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. The residual smoke is composed of an elevated optically thin trans-Pacific remnant smoke from Asia and light density smoke from wildfires in British Columbia and Alberta. Embedded within this residual smoke, heavy smoke can be seen emanating to the northwest from a wildfire located southwest of Prince George near Little Bobtail Lake in central British Columbia. Light density smoke plumes from wildfires in northern British Columbia and northern Alberta can be seen moving to the northwest. AEROSOLS: Eastern U.S.: An elongated area of aerosols can be seen stretching along the eastern seaboard from the US southeast coast to the Gulf of Maine. The aerosols are composed of trans-Atlantic Saharan dust that made its way north from the Caribbean and appear to be more concentrated from the Florida coastline to the Maryland coast. -Cronin Earlier Today... SMOKE: Western Canada/Central Canada: Large areas of light to heavy density smoke are visible this morning in satellite imagery originating from several Canadian wildfires as well as remnant Asian smoke. The thickest smoke is visible exclusively in British Columbia, moving NW towards the Pacific Ocean. Two other separate plumes farther east are visible affecting Yukon, NW Territories, British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. Central US/Canada: A large area of light density smoke is visible moving SE this morning across the Canadian border into the U.S. Areas affected include Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, western Quebec, and the Great Lakes. Another plume to the south is visible moving Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois. This smoke originates from the wildfires occurring in British Columbia and Alberta as well as foreign remnant smoke from Asia. Western Gulf of Mexico: A large area of residual light density smoke mixed with Saharan dust continues to be observed in the western Gulf of Mexico. The smoke spans from the Gulf of Campeche north, although clouds obscure the observation of smoke any further west than 92W. The smoke originated from an abundance of agricultural/prescribed burns in Cuba and Central American. AEROSOLS: Gulf of Mexico/Eastern U.S.: A large area of aerosols, primarily Saharan dust, continues to be visible ranging from the eastern Gulf of Mexico, through central Florida, and offshore the Atlantic Ocean up the east coast. Aerosols can also be seen along the Eastern seaboard from the northern Florida to New England coastline. Oegerle 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