DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0130Z October 5, 2017
SMOKE: California... Varying density smoke plumes were observed streaming off to the northeast of fires located in the southern Sierra Nevada. Further to the north, agricultural burns in the northern San Joaquin Valley were seen producing thin smoke plumes moving away from the center of the San Joaquin Valley. Finally, a persistent wildfire along the California/Oregon border was producing a narrow plume of light density smoke. Arizona... Four wildfires emitting smoke plumes streaming toward the northeast were visible across the northern half of Arizona. The two most significant plumes, which were producing light to moderate smoke, were located in the Coconino National Forest south and southeast of Flagstaff. The other two smoke plumes of only light density were located within Prescott national Forest and north of the Hualapai Indian Reservation. Washington/Oregon... A handful of fires throughout the Pacific northwest were producing smoke plumes. There were three in the Oregon Cascades, three in the Washington Cascades, and one in far southeastern Washington. Mid-Mississippi Valley/Southeastern US/Mid-Atlantic... Agricultural fires from southern Maryland to Georgia to Arkansas and Louisiana were producing light smoke plumes. Smoke plumes in Virginia and Maryland were moving towards the northeast, while the other smoke plumes were seen moving to the west or west-southwest. North Dakota/Southeastern Saskatchewan/Southwestern Manitoba... Numerous agricultural burns throughout North Dakota, southeastern Saskatchewan, and southwestern Manitoba were producing light density some plumes that were generally moving off to the east. British Columbia... A fire in central British Columbia is producing varying density smoke. This smoke plume was seen filtering into valleys towards the north and, for the portion making it out of the valleys, the northeast. Another family of fires to the east-southeast of the larger wildfire was also producing light density smoke. This smoke was moving around the center of an anticyclone centered over east-central British Columbia. -Hosley 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