DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0300Z July 23, 2018.
NESDIS IS INVESTIGATING THE UTILITY OF THIS TEXT NARRATIVE. IF YOU FIND
THIS PRODUCT VALUABLE, PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL RESPONSE TO THE FOLLOWING
ADDRESS INDICATING HOW YOU AND/OR YOUR AGENCY USE THE INFORMATION.
THANK YOU. SEND EMAIL RESPONSES TO: SSDFireTeam@noaa.gov.
SMOKE:
Western CONUS...
Wildfires across southwestern Oregon and the Ferguson Fire in central
California were observed producing thick smoke. The smoke from the
wildfires in Oregon has created a blanket of thick smoke filling
valleys from extreme north-central California into much of southwestern
Oregon. The lighter smoke making it out of the valleys has spread out
over the rest of Oregon and central Idaho. The smoke that is lofted will
continue to spread out to the north and east. As for the Ferguson Fire,
much of the smoke, which varies in density, remains confined to the
eastern rim of the San Joaquin Valley, with some thicker smoke near the
wildfire finding a few valleys through which it can pass towards the
east. A very small portion of the smoke has made its way over and the
Sierras and into Nevada, with some making its way around the Sierras to
the north. This area of smoke will likely spread along the Sierras to
the north and south unless the smoke can top the Sierras.
Great Lakes and Eastern Canada...
A layer of moderate to thick smoke was observed over central Quebec into
Ontario and wrapping around a cyclone over the Great Lakes into the UP
of Michigan, Wisconsin, northern Illinois, and northern Indiana. The
source of this probably remnant smoke layer is likely wildfire activity
across eastern Ontario south of James Bay over the last few days.
Northern, Western, and Southwestern Canada...
A very large area of varying density smoke was observed over the
northern tier of Canadian Provinces wrapping around a cyclone in central
British Columbia, after which the smoke extends into Alberta, central
Saskatchewan, and central Manitoba, where another cyclone is incorporating
the leading edge of the smoke layer. This smoke is believed to be long
range transport across the Arctic Ocean from fires in Russia/Asia.
DUST:
A dense SAL was observed across the southeastern North Atlantic extending
out from west Africa. This is slowly drifting north and west.
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/data/land/fire/currenthms.jpg
GIS: ftp://satpsanone.nesdis.noaa.gov/FIRE/HMS/GIS/
KML: http://www.ospo.noaa.gov/data/land/fire/fire.kml (fire)
http://www.ospo.noaa.gov/data/land/fire/smoke.kml (smoke)
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS REGARDING THIS PRODUCT SHOULD BE SENT TO:
SSDFireTeam@noaa.gov