DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0100Z October 23, 2019
SMOKE: Northern California... about a dozen smoke plumes were observed this afternoon throughout northern California and southern Oregon. The smoke was mainly light to moderate, with one or two fires producing thick smoke. Much of the smoke from these fires, both in and above the Sacramento Valley, was moving off to the south. Southern California and northern Baja California... A further dozen or so fires across southern California and northern Baja California were seen emitting mainly light smoke with a couple producing moderate density smoke. Much of the smoke was moving off towards the west out over the Pacific. Arizona... Wildfire activity was again observed across the Mogollon Rim this afternoon. One larger wildfire exists in north-central Arizona while 5-6 were noted in east-central Arizona. Much of the smoke emitted from these wildfires was moderate to thick. The smoke was moving off toward the south and east. Central/Southern Plains... A dozen and a half smoke producing agricultural burns were noted from eastern Colorado to eastern Arkansas and central Texas. A vast majority of the smoke was light in nature, with some more dense smoke noted earlier this afternoon across northern Texas. Smoke across Texas was moving counter-clockwise around high pressure at the surface centered over central Texas while smoke across Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas was moving east to east-southeast. Southern Mexico/Southwestern Gulf of Mexico... Light density smoke was visible over the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico mainly from gas flaring from the oil production/refinery facilities in the Southern Bay of Campeche and the region of Tabasco and northern Chiapas. The smoke is progressing northward into a frontal system across the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, where the smoke turns northeastward this morning/early afternoon. British Columbia/Pacific Northwest.... Widespread seasonal fire activity was observed throughout British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest. A few light smoke plumes were noted...however, more smoke is likely present given the volume of fire activity observed. Cloud cover contaminated the visible satellite imagery, hampering the ability to discern smoke emissions throughout many portions of the region. Much of the smoke that was observed was moving off towards the southeast. 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