Sunday, July 17, 2016

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0200Z July 18, 2016

SMOKE:
Labrador/Quebec:
Multiple light to medium density smoke plumes were seen in northeastern
Labrador and far northeastern Quebec.  All of these smoke plumes were
traveling towards the northeast.

Alaska and Northwest/West/Central Canada/Northern Plains:
Wildfires in southwest Alaska contributed to an east-west band of light
to moderate density remnant smoke which has been stretched from west
to east this afternoon. Light to moderate density smoke plumes could be
seen emitting from wildfires in southwest Alaska this afternoon/evening
and were traveling towards the east. Large amounts of wildfire activity
located in North-Central and Central Alaska the past few days 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 northwestern Nunavut before becoming hidden
beneath clouds making it hard to differentiate the full extent of this
smoke. Only moderate to heavy density smoke plumes traveling towards the
southeast could be seen in the Northwest Territories in-between cloud
cover and the aforementioned residual smoke.  An expansive ribbon of
light to moderate density remnant smoke (likely originating primarily
from numerous wildfires burning throughout the Northwest Territories) was
seen extending east-southeast across northern/central British Columbia,
Alberta, Saskatchewan, southern Manitoba, northeast North Dakota,
southwest Ontario and Minnesota being depressed southward towards the
Great Lakes region and Midwest by a frontal boundary.

Colorado/Wyoming:
A wildfire along the Colorado and Wyoming border was producing a light to
heavy density smoke plume which was moving towards the east-northeast. The
full extent of this smoke plume was difficult to determine due to
cloud cover.

Arizona:
The Fuller fire near the Grand Canyon in north-central Arizona was
producing a light to moderate density smoke plume which was traveling to
the east-northeast.  Remnant thin to moderately dense/dense smoke from
this fire stretches from northeast Arizona and southeast Utah eastward
to western Kansas/southwest Nebraska.

DUST:
Nevada:
A small area of blowing sand/dust originating from the Carson Sink in
west-central Nevada was advected towards east-northeast.

Western Gulf of Mexico/Southern and Central Plains/Lower-Mid Mississippi
River Valley:
Saharan dust continues to be observed moving north and through the western
and southern Gulf of Mexico with the greatest density over north Texas
into the Central Plains and the Lower-Mid Mississippi River Valley.

North Atlantic/Canadian Maritimes:
Elevated dust likely originating from Africa can be seen over the North
Atlantic lifting northeastward ahead of a frontal boundary just southeast
of the Canadian Maritimes.

Puerto Rico/Caribbean Sea:
Another wave of Saharan dust could be seen moving west over Puerto Rico
and 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

 


Unless otherwise indicated:
  • Areas of smoke are analyzed using GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST Visible satellite imagery.
  • Only a general description of areas of smoke or significant smoke plumes will be analyzed.
  • A quantitative assessment of the density/amount of particulate or the vertical distribution is not included.
  • Widespread cloudiness may prevent the detection of smoke even from significant fires.