DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0002Z July 25, 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 US...
Thick smoke from wildfire activity in southwest Oregon and a wildfire at
the northern edge of the San Joaquin Valley blankets much of southwestern
Oregon and northern California, with lighter density smoke moving out
over the near-coast Pacific Ocean and towards the east-northeast across
central Idaho (where another fire is adding to the plume while also
spreading south) and west-central Montana. The Ferguson fire is also still
producing copious amounts of dense smoke, which is spreading both north
and south in California along the eastern edge of the San Joaquin Valley.
Alaska...
Wildfires in central Alaska are producing thin to moderate density
smoke. This smoke is spreading out across much of central Alaska, moving
northwest from the fires and turning right towards the northeast and
then east-northeast.
Canada/Great Lakes/Mississippi Valley/North Atlantic...
An expansive region of varying density smoke exists across nearly all of
Canada EXCEPT for far eastern Ontario, southern Quebec, and the Maritime
Provinces where cloud cover obscures the detection of smoke. The smoke
also extends southward across the northern Great Plains, the Great Lakes,
and the Mississippi River Valley, with an eastern extension into the
north Atlantic just south of Greenland. Much of this smoke is believed
to have originated in Russia, although fires in Ontario are producing
thick smoke that is contributing to the thicker portion of smoke layer
over the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Valley. Over western Canada,
a series of cyclones is shearing the layer into thicker and thinner
areas within the overall area.
DUST:
Saharan dust was observed across much of the central Atlantic, southern
Caribbean, the Gulf of Honduras, the Bay of Campeche, the Gulf of Mexico,
Central America, and the far eastern Pacific. Much of the dust was moving
west or northwest in general.
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