DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0200Z July 17, 2016
SMOKE: Alaska and Northwest/West/Central Canada: Large amounts of wildfire activity located in North-Central and Central Alaska contributed to a large area of light to moderate density remnant smoke which combined with smoke emitted from wildfires in the Northwest Territories. This area of remnant smoke spanned from central Alaska east across Yukon, the Northwest Territories into far northwestern Nunavut. In-between cloud cover in the Northwest Territories multiple light to heavy density smoke plumes could be seen moving towards the south. An expansive ribbon of light to moderate density remnant smoke (likely originating primarily from numerous wildfires burning throughout the Northwest Territories) was also seen in-between cloud cover. This area of remnant smoke extends east southeast from northeast British Columbia, northern/central Alberta, northern/central Saskatchewan, northern and central Manitoba, northern Ontario, and across the southern extent of Hudson Bay to western Quebec. Arizona: The Fuller fire near the Grand Canyon in north-central Arizona was producing a light to heavy density smoke plume which was traveling to the east-northeast into southwest Colorado. Remnant light density smoke could be seen just ahead of this impressive plume in south-central Colorado and likely originated from the same source. DUST: Western Gulf of Mexico/Southern and Central Plains/Lower Mississippi River Valley: Saharan dust continues to be observed moving north and through the western Gulf of Mexico with the greatest density over north Texas into the Central Plains and the Lower Mississippi River Valley. Puerto Rico/Leeward Islands: Another wave of Saharan dust could be seen moving west over Puerto Rico and the Leeward Islands into the Caribbean Sea. -Cronin 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