DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0200Z August 20, 2016
SMOKE: Western US: An expansive area of light density remnant smoke was seen across the western US with an embedded area of moderate density remnant smoke in northeastern Utah, northwestern Colorado and southwestern Wyoming. Clouds over the central US obscured the full extent of this smoke. Multiple light to heavy density smoke plumes were further contributing to the remnant smoke. The majority of the smoke was moving towards the southeast in the Pacific Northwest and the Intermountain West. However smoke plumes seen in south-central California were moving westward. An impressive light to heavy density smoke plume was emitted from the wildfire named Cedar in the southern portions of the Sierra Nevadas. DUST: A large area of Saharan dust was seen throughout the Caribbean Sea and to the north into the Atlantic with a medium density swath of dust seen just north of Puerto Rico moving towards the island to the southwest. -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