DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1630Z August 17, 2015
SMOKE: Western and Central US/Canada: A large area of light to heavy density smoke is being emitted from wildfires burning in the Pacific NW that stretches across the country. The heaviest smoke is visible around the large wildfire complexes located in California, Oregon, Washington, And Idaho. Medium-density smoke is visible throughout California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Another patch of medium density smoke is visible throughout North and South Dakota, while Light density smoke is visible in majority of northwestern and central US moving as far east as the Northern and Southern Plains and Upper and Middle Mississippi. Another separate light density plume likely from the northwestern US is seen extending from Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and as far north as Wisconsin and Michigan. Lastly, another patch of light density plume is seen in eastern Manitoba, northern Ontario, through central Hudson Bay and into northern Quebec. Northern and Central California: Areas of low to heavy density smoke from the cluster of fires in northern California is moving west to the Pacific along the coast. The fire in central California is also producing small but low to moderate density smoke heading northwest and will most likely join the the bigger smoke produced from the fires in northwestern US later on the day. Eastern US: A large area of light density remnant smoke are visible throughout Northeast US and offshore Atlantic Ocean. The plume extends from northern Maryland to as high as Newfoundland and Labrador. This smoke originates from the wildfires burning in the Pacific NW and Canada. Kemal 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