DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1800Z May 21, 2015
SMOKE: Western Canada/Central Canada: A large area of light density to heavy smoke was seen stretching from eastern Alaska through Yukon, northeastern British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Nunavut into the Northern Plains and western Ontario. This area of remnant smoke originates from the wildfires taking place in Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. One of the heavy contributors is a major wildfire near Garson Lake in Saskatchewan, which is emitting very heavy smoke. Central US: A large area of light to medium-density smoke is visible moving south from Saskatchewan and Manitoba this morning. Areas affected include Saskatchewan, Manitoba, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Illinois and Missouri. The thickest smoke is visible in Manitoba, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska. This smoke originates from the wildfires taking place in Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan (notably the wildfire near Garson Lake in Saskatchewan.) Western Gulf of Mexico: A large area of medium-density remnant smoke was observed over the western Gulf of Mexico spanning from the Gulf of Campeche moving NW towards the Texas coastline. This area of smoke is mostly a result of seasonal agricultural burning in Central America. Florida: Two plumes of light-density smoke are visible off the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of Florida moving offshore this morning. This smoke was visible at sunrise, and originates from several fires taking place near Big Cypress in the Everglades the last couple of days. 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