DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1730Z July 3, 2016
SMOKE: Beaufort Sea/Northwestern to South Central Canada/Great Lakes Region: An extensive area of light remnant smoke from fires in the Northwest Territories, northern Saskatchewan, northern Alberta, and north Manitoba extends southeastward from the Beaufort Sea to southern Ontario and the northern Great Lakes. Moderately dense to dense smoke is especially prevalent over the Northwest Territories directly north of the bulk of the fire activity. Alaska: A patch of thin remnant smoke is analyzed over northern Alaska, with nearby fires the likely cause. Off the western and southwestern coasts of the state, additional aerosol is observed that is thought to be remnant smoke from wildfires in Siberia that is now drifting east. Western US: Areas of thin to moderately dense smoke are seen over parts of northern California, Nevada, northwest Utah, and southeast Idaho. This smoke is largely from the Trailhead fire in California and the Hot Pot fire in northern Nevada. DUST: Gulf of Mexico/Texas Coast/Lower Mississippi River Valley/Southeast US: An area of Saharan dust was seen over western and central portions of the Gulf of Mexico north to the Texas coast. Some of this dust possibly mixed with remnant smoke and sulfates also appears over parts of the Lower Mississippi River Valley and the Southeast US eventually disappearing beneath cloud cove just off the coast of North Carolina. Eastern Caribbean/Bahamas/South Florida: A large area of optically thick Saharan dust can be seen pushing westward across the Caribbean Sea from the Leeward Islands to just east of Jamaica. Other smaller separate areas of Saharan dust can also be seen crossing the Bahamas and far southern Florida/northwest Cuba UNKNOWN AEROSOL: New England/Canadian Maritimes: A faint aerosol is seen along/off the coast of New England stretching from eastern Massachusetts east-northeast across the southern tip of Nova Scotia and then northeast along the coast as it wraps into a surface low over western Newfoundland. The composition and origin of this aerosol 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