Wednesday, July 29, 2015

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1800Z July 29, 2015

SMOKE:
Alaska:
Smoke from wildfires in central Alaska could be seen beneath scattered
clouds moving east towards the Yukon Territory. Some thin smoke was
also seen over northwest and west central Alaska that is being pulled
southward. Moderately dense to dense smoke is present over portions of
central Alaska closer to the wildfire source points.

Canada:
Several areas of light density smoke coming from the Siberian and/or
Alaskan fires is seen through Northwest Territories heading southward
into northeast Alberta/Saskatchewan/far northeast Montana/far northwest
Montana. Another area of thin smoke likely from Siberian wildfires is seen
further east across central Ontario and the southern shore of Hudson Bay.

Northeast US:
Light haze is seen along and off the coast of the Northeast US extending
northeast over and just southeast of Nova Scotia. This area contains
some remnant smoke coming from the fires in Canada and Siberia and is
likely mixed with sulfates.

Dust:
Central US:
Saharan dust remains across the far western portion of the Gulf of Mexico
and extends north across a majority of Texas wrapping north and northeast
across the southern and central Plains. The dust is most notable along
a frontal boundary through portions of north Texas/Oklahoma/Missouri/and
Arkansas.

Unknown Aerosol:
Southeast US:
An unknown aerosol is present along/off the Southeast US coast across
northern portions of Florida and over the far northeast Gulf of
Mexico. Fires yesterday over the Southeast produced some smoke that
could have mixed in with the aerosol over the northeast Gulf but other
aerosols likely comprise the majority of the area.

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

 


Unless otherwise indicated:
  • Areas of smoke are analyzed using GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST Visible satellite imagery.
  • Only a general description of areas of smoke or significant smoke plumes will be analyzed.
  • A quantitative assessment of the density/amount of particulate or the vertical distribution is not included.
  • Widespread cloudiness may prevent the detection of smoke even from significant fires.