DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1700Z July 19, 2015
SMOKE: Alaska: Remnant smoke from the central Alaskan wildfires is visible moving eastward in the Bay of Alaska, south of the base of the Aleutian islands east over Kodiak Island as far west as Homer, Alaska. Canada: Several areas of light density smoke with embedded bands of moderate smoke were seen throughout northern/central Canada in between extensive cloud cover throughout Canada. An area of light density remnant smoke from Alaskan wildfires was seen moving east from the Alaskan border to Yukon and the NW Territories. An area of light density smoke is visible moving SE through the NW Territories, Nunavut, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, with the heaviest areas occupying the NW Territories, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario. Light density smoke is also observed in the west, coming down from Alaska to the NW Territories, British Columbia, and Alberta, where there are also independent contributing wildfires. Additionally, smoke is visible north of Nunavut and NW Territories where remnant smoke from Alaska is seen circulating. Eastern Canada/Greenland: An area of light density remnant smoke with patches of medium-density smoke was observed north of Quebec over the Nunavut, Newfoundland, and as far east as southern coast of Greenland. This area of smoke originates from the Canadian and Alaskan wildfires that have continuously been burning. Northern Central US: A large band of light to medium-density smoke is visible traveling E/SE throughout the region. Smoke is visible extending from Montana through the Great Lakes into Ontario with the heaviest smoke affecting Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ontario. This remnant smoke originates from the wildfires burning in Alaska, Canada, and possibly the Pacific NW. Montana/Idaho: A single plume of light density smoke is visible moving SE through Montana and Idaho from Alberta. This remnant smoke could be a result from the wildfires occurring in Canada and/or the Pacific NW recently. DUST: Central U.S: Areas of Saharan dust are visible across much of the central U.S, seen moving inland from the Gulf of Mexico into Texas and is moving east towards the Mississippi Valley. The dust is visible as far north as Oklahoma. Atlantic Ocean/Gulf of Mexico: Another surge of Saharan dust is seen moving across the Atlantic towards the U.S. Its current extent appears to remain offshore of Florida as well as into central portions of the Gulf of Mexico off of Texas and Louisiana. AEROSOLS: Mid-Atlantic: An area of unknown aerosols are visible off the Mid-Atlantic coast this morning moving eastward extending from Virginia to Massachusetts. Its a possibility that this plume is a mixture of Saharan dust that has been moving through the east coast as well as remnant smoke coming down from Canada, and general sulfates. 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