DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1730Z July 19, 2020
SMOKE:
Area from Northern and Central California and Southern Oregon Extending
Eastward to Western Nebraska and Western South Dakota/Pacific Off the
Coast of Northern California and Southern Oregon…
A broad west to east elongated area of leftover thin to moderate density
smoke was visible this morning over the Pacific off the coast of southern
Oregon and northern California extending inland over southern Oregon,
northern and central California, southern Idaho, northern Nevada, northern
Utah, Wyoming, far northern Colorado, western South Dakota and western
Nebraska. This smoke was mainly due to the Mineral Fire in west central
California as well as the Badger Fire in northern California, and a fire
located in northeastern California just east of the Hog Flat Reservoir
south of Highway 44. Locally thicker smoke was seen near and to the east
and southeast of the fire east of the Hog Flat Reservoir, near and to the
west of the Badger Fire, and near and to the north of the Mineral Fire.
Southeastern Nevada/Southern Utah/Northern Arizona…
A swath of leftover thin density smoke primarily attributed to the
Thumb Fire in northern Arizona was seen this morning stretching from
southeastern Nevada across southern Utah and northern Arizona. Locally
thicker smoke was visible near and extending to the southeast of the
Thumb Fire.
UNKNOWN AEROSOL:
South Central and Southeastern U.S…
An aerosol of unknown origin and composition was visible this morning
stretching from the Ark-la-tex Region across the Mid and Lower Mississippi
Valley, the Tennessee Valley and Ohio Valley, and over the Carolinas to
off the Mid-Atlantic coast. It is possible that some leftover smoke both
from recent fire activity in these regions and from the larger wildfires
in the Western U.S. may be present but it cannot be determined from
satellite imagery.
DUST:
Any residual Saharan dust which may still be present over or near the
U.S., the Caribbean region, or Mexico and Central America is not easy
to discern in satellite imagery. The only Saharan dust which was visible
was way out over the far eastern Atlantic near the African coast.
JS
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