DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH Z July 5, 2020
SMOKE:
Arizona/New Mexico:
Light to moderate density smoke production continues from the Wood
Springs 2 and Bighorn fires in Arizona, and the Cub and Vics Peak
fires in New Mexico. Smoke from the Cub fire had been trapped in a
valley overnight, which had cause the smoke to become dense in that
valley by sunrise. By the afternoon, much of that had dispersed with
daytime-heating. Smoke from the Bighorn, Cub, and Vics Peak fires was
moving off toward the south-southeast while smoke from the Wood Springs
2 fire was moving east. Shallow cumulus clouds had also begun to pop
up over and downwind of the Wood Springs 2, Cub, and Vics Peak fires,
which may inhibit further smoke analysis from those fires.
Western San Joaquin Valley…
A single fire along the western portions of the San Joaquin Valley
was producing thick smoke as the sun rose this morning. The smoke
from this fire moved south-southeastward down the western edge of the
valley. Visible smoke production appears to have (at least temporarily)
ceased right around or just before 1800Z.
UNKNOWN AEROSOL:
Carolinas/Mid-Atlantic/western Atlantic Ocean…
Aerosol of unknown origin continues to be observed along the U.S. East
Coast and out into the Atlantic Ocean south of New England.
Great Lakes/Midwest/Plains…
A layer of mixed density aerosol, of which origin is uncertain, was
observed from West Virginia and Ohio into Kansas and Nebraska. This
aerosol was slowly moving eastward through the Ohio Valley and into the
Mid-Mississippi valley, where the aerosol was being drawn north. The
densest region of this aerosol was observed extending westward from
central Ohio into central Indiana, southern Illinois, and into the
St. Louis Metro area.
BLOWING DUST:
Eastern Atlantic…
A continued surge of Saharan dust was moving across the eastern
Atlantic. The leading edge of this plume had entered the Caribbean Sea
over the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, and Hispaniola, yet extended
all the way east back to the Sahara. This layer of dust is still moving
westward.
Northwestern Gulf of Mexico/Texas…
The layer of Saharan dust that has been over the western Gulf of Mexico
has moved into the northwestern Gulf of Mexico and ashore across Texas
and Louisiana. This may also be contributing some to the unknown aerosol
across Kansas and Missouri.
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