DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0230Z July 30, 2015
SMOKE: Alaska: Smoke from wildfires in central Alaska are seen beneath the scattered clouds moving east towards the borders of Yukon Territory. Some thin smoke was also seen over northwest Alaska that is being pulled southeastward. Moderately dense to dense smoke is present over portions of central Alaska closer to the wildfire source points. Canada: A large area of light density smoke coming from the Siberian and/or Alaskan fires is seen along the southeastern edge of Hudson Bay and through the western half of Quebec heading southward into northern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. California: The wildfires in the Sierra Nevada and in Napa county are producing expansive smoke plumes that are moving to the west off the Sierras and then to the north from Napa county. There are significant areas of moderate to dense smoke with these fires. Smoke from earlier in the day moved westward into the Pacific Ocean. DUST: Central US: Saharan dust remains across the far western portion of the Gulf of Mexico and extends north across a majority of Texas and into Oklahoma. Kemal/Ruminski From Earlier 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