DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0330Z June 9 2016
SMOKE: Alaska: A light to moderate density smoke plume originating from the Kuyukutuk River Fire in southwest Alaska was seen emanating towards the east and over the Alaskan Range. Cloud cover obscured the full extent of this smoke plume. Southwestern Gulf of Mexico/Bay of Campeche: An area of remnant thin smoke was seen in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico and the Bay of Campeche. The potential source of this remnant smoke could be seasonal burning from Central American prescribed/agricultural burns but is most likely remnant emissions from oil rigs in the Bay of Campeche. A small area of moderately dense smoke was observed near oil rigs in Bay of Campeche and most likely originated from these same oil rigs. Southern Plains/US Southwest: An area of light density remnant smoke was observed over the Southern Plains this evening and was moving to the northeast. This area of smoke was from wildfire activity in the US Southwest although extensive cloud cover in the US Southwest obscured the connection of smoke between these two areas. South Central Canada: An area of remnant light to moderately dense smoke stretches across central Saskatchewan and central to southeast Manitoba. This smoke is from the wildfires that continue to burn in northeast Alberta and along the Alberta/Saskatchewan border. The smoke continues to be stretched westward towards west-central Saskatchewan and southeastward towards southwest Ontario, northern Minnesota, and Lake Superior. A light to moderate density smoke plume was identified within this area of remnant smoke moving westward in east-central Saskatchewan. -Cronin Earlier Today... SMOKE: Southwest US/Northwest Mexico/West and Northwest Texas/West Oklahoma/Southwest Kansas: Wildfire activity in central Arizona, west New Mexico, and western/northwestern Mexico over the past few days produced an area of remnant smoke that has drifted east across the Southern Plains of the US. Thin remnant smoke could be seen from the northern part of the Mexican state of Chihuahua northeast across west/northwest Texas, west Oklahoma, and southwest Kansas. Additional fresh smoke was seen this morning coming from the Juniper Fire as well as other wildfires in central Arizona. South and Southeast Texas/Northeast Mexico/Western Gulf/Bay of Campeche: An area of thin smoke can be seen across much of southern and eastern Texas extending to just off the Texas coast and up the Rio Grande Valley along the Mexican border. Another larger area of remnant smoke is present across the far western Gulf of Mexico into the Bay of Campeche with a small patch of moderately dense smoke observed as well. All of this smoke is believed to be from fires in Mexico over the past few days. South Central Canada: An area of remnant light to moderately dense smoke stretches across central Saskatchewan and central to southeast Manitoba. This smoke is from the wildfires that continue to burn in northeast Alberta and along the Alberta/Saskatchewan border. The smoke was moving southeastward towards southwest Ontario, northern Minnesota, and Lake Superior. Alaska: Two areas of thin remnant smoke were visible this morning over parts of Alaska, one area over the southwest corner of the state and the other over the Gulf of Alaska waters. Much of this smoke is believed to be from the Kuyukutuk River Fire in southwest Alaska. DUST: Western Atlantic: Aerosol can be seen off the East Coast of the US stretching from northeast Florida northeastward to the Gulf of Maine and southwest Nova Scotia. The aerosol is believed to be elevated Saharan dust that was pulled north by the former T.S. Colin. The Saharan dust has become trapped between an old frontal boundary across Florida to north of the Bahamas and a stronger cold front that is just moving off the coast of the Southeast US/Mid-Atlantic/Northeast this morning. Northern Plains: An indistinct aerosol can be seen amongst the cloud cover over the Northern Plains this morning stretching from southern North Dakota southeastward across portions of South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska. This aerosol may be elevated dust that has moved southeast through western Canada with an origin that is likely Asian. Some of the elevated dust may also exist over northeast Montana, northwest North Dakota, and southern Saskatchewan though it could not be discerned as easily in those areas. 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