Thursday, December 14, 2017

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0100Z December 15, 2017

***CORRECTED TO ADD REMNANT SMOKE OVER THE CANADIAN MARITIMES/NORTH
ATLANTIC***

SMOKE:
Southern California/Far Southwest Oregon/Pacific Ocean/Northern Baja
California...
The wildfires in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties were continuing
to emit large quantities of smoke. The smoke plume spans from the
southwesternmost portions of Oregon to south of the southern tip of
Baja California. A region of moderate smoke over 1000 miles to the west
of Cabo San Lucas is the result of convergence due to a westward moving
cyclonic feature. The leading edge of the plume on the south-southwestern
side of the plume also shows some moderate density smoke. This feature
lies just offshore of Baja California Sur. Closer to the wildfires,
moderate to thick density smoke extends to the west-southwest over 100
miles, over the northern Channel Islands and to the west of the southern
Channel Islands. Most of the smoke in the plume is moving to the west,
with a few portions moving more toward the south.

Northern Texas...
A thin layer of remnant smoke was visible over northern Texas this
afternoon. This layer likely originated from the Legion Lake Fire in
the Black Hills of South Dakota...however, it is also possible that
this could be smoke that has taken a few days to round the ridge over
the west coast from one of the wildfires in southern California. This
layer of smoke was moving due south.

Maritime Provinces/North Atlantic...
Remnant smoke was observed entrained within a cyclone and frontal system
over Newfoundland. The source of this smoke could be either the complex
of fires present in southern California from a few days past or the
Legion Lake Fire.


DUST:
Mojave Desert/Gulf of California...
A large region of blowing dust was observed in satellite imagery
spreading over southeastern California, southwestern Arizona, far
northwestern Mexico, and the northern Gulf of California. There were a
few individual sources, including the Cadiz Dunes, the Imperial Desert
about 20 miles southwest of the Salton Sea, an area between Interstates
8 and 10 on the border of Yuma and Maricopa Counties,and Laguna Salada,
which is just south of Mexicali, Mexico. The dust was seen being blown
to the south and southwest.

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

 


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.