Sunday, July 30, 2017

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1745Z July 30, 2017

SMOKE:
Much of Canada from British Columbia to Quebec/Area from the Northwestern
US across the North Central US to the Northeast...
Once again, a very large area of thin density smoke covered the US
from northern California and Oregon across the North Central US to the
Northeast with very thin density smoke also stretching southward over
Ohio and the Mid-Atlantic region. Across Canada, the huge mass of thin
density smoke was also present extending from British Columbia and the
southern portion of the Northwest Territories eastward over Hudson
Bay and a portion of Quebec. The source for all of this smoke was a
combination of fires scattered across central and western Canada and
over the northwestern portion of the US. The thickest smoke included
an elongated area of moderately dense smoke which stretched from
British Columbia to Ontario and dense smoke which covered southern and
eastern British Columbia, central Alberta, and western and southwestern
Saskatchewan. The source for this thicker region of smoke is primarily the
wildfires burning in southern and southeastern British Columbia. Over the
Western US, some moderately dense smoke was visible over central Montana
with locally thicker smoke seen closer to the fires over western Montana
and the northern portion of Idaho. Moderately dense to thick smoke
was present closer to the fire activity over northern California and
southern Oregon and extending to the northeast from there over southern
and eastern Oregon.

Alaska/Far Northwestern Canada...
Several wildfires in eastern Alaska were responsible for a smoke area of
varying density which covers eastern and northeastern Alaska as well as
a portion of the nearby Yukon province in northwestern Canada. The smoke
also likely extends northward over the Arctic Ocean though cloudiness and
the limit of the satellite field of view inhibits smoke detection there.

JS


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.