DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1800Z May 22, 2016
SMOKE: Gulf of Mexico/Bay of Campeche: A large mass of thin to moderately dense smoke from agricultural burning in Mexico/Central America could be seen again today drifting north and northwest from the Bay of Campeche. The smoke extended into southern Texas and eastward through the central Gulf. Another thin patch of smoke was moving westward from the western end of Cuba. South Central to Southeast Canada/North Central US/Great Lakes/Ohio and Tennessee Valleys: An expansive area of thin to moderate density smoke covered much of southern Canada from Ontario eastward across James Bay/Quebec/southern Labrador/Newfoundland. Smoke also continued northeast from here coming close to the southern tip of Greenland. The smoke extends south from Canada through the western Great Lakes to as far south as Kentucky and Tennessee before wrapping east towards the Appalachians. The source of the majority of this smoke is the fires near Fort McMurray. Northwest Canada/Alaska/British Columbia: An extended area of smoke stretched across the Arctic Ocean north of Alaska southeast across northwestern Canada to Hudson Bay. Within this larger area of smoke, areas of moderately dense to dense smoke could be seen. Additional thin remannt smoke was present over western/central Alaska, within the Gulf of Alaska, and along the coast of British Columbia extending inland. While much of this smoke is from wildfires in Siberia, the smoke that is inland over British Columbia is more than likely from fires near Ft. McMurray, Alberta. DUST: Southern California/Baja/Gulf of California: Aerosol seen off the California coast into the Gulf of California is thought to be mostly elevated dust, some of which has originated in Asia and some of which is from the deserts of northern Baja. There is a possibility that some smoke from wildfires in Canada may have drifted south along the West Coast and mixed in with the dust. Southeast US Coast: Aerosol seen off the southeast US is thought to be elevated dust though the source is not known. 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