DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0211Z August 18, 2019
SMOKE:
Alaska...
Light and Medium density remnant smoke from wildfires throughout Russia
was observed moving east and southeast across Alaska and into the
Northern Territories of Canada. Additional distinct plumes of heavy
density smoke were observed moving south off of wildfires along the
southern portion of Alaska.
Central Canada...
Medium density smoke was observed in central Canada extending north
into the central Northern Territories of Canada. The smoke may extend
from a few fires observed in Alberta in addition to remnant smoke from
Russia wrapping into the cloud features. Additional wildfire activity
and associated smoke may be wrapped into the cloud features that are
obscuring the view.
Arizona into Four Corners...
Multiple fires burning in the central and northern portions of Arizona
provided multiple smoke plumes varying in intensity. A very large area of
light density smoke extended over the Four Corners and state boundaries,
while smaller individual plumes of medium and heavy density smoke extended
east across northern Arizona.
Central California...
A large area of light density smoke was observed extending east-northeast
from a wildfire burning near the Nevada-California burning, more
specifically, around the Inyo National Forest area. An additional area
of more concentrated medium density smoke also extended northeast from
the fires into Nevada.
Southeastern U.S...
Numerous fires burning throughout the entire southeastern United States
have produced plumes of light density smoke moving west from the fires.
Though afternoon cloud cover has obscured some of the visibility, multiple
plumes were visible in Alabama and Mississippi. Two substantially heavier
plumes of heavy density smoke were observed coming from fires in Alabama
and Mississippi, with heavy smoke moving west and northwest, respectively.
Smoke from Mississippi was observed moving into Louisiana.
Bay of Campeche...
A large area of medium density smoke from rigs in the Bay of Campeche was
observed extending north into the Gulf of Mexico nearing the southernmost
tip of Texas, then progressing west with the winds across the Gulf.
SMOKE EARLIER TODAY:
Northern Arizona/Southern Utah...
Several fires in Arizona and Utah were emitting smoke plumes moving
east towards the Four Corners region. The fires in northern Arizona,
particularly those near the north rim of the Grand Canyon, were producing
large amounts of light to moderate density smoke.
Texas/Oklahoma...
Light to moderate remnant smoke from yesterday fires was seen moving
across the southeast U.S.
Western and Central Canada and the northeastern Pacific...
Light to moderate density remnant smoke from wildfires throughout Russia
was noted across much of Canada and the U.S. Smoke was generally moving
south and east across North America.
Levine
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