DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0410Z August 4, 2020
SMOKE:
Western US into Northwest Mexico ...
A large area of light to medium density smoke was observed over southern
California, southern Nevada, southern Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and
into northwestern states of Mexico. Some stagnant remnant smoke from
ongoing fire activity was present along with new, slow moving heavy,
thick smoke from active fires in Arizona and southern California. Smoke
was generally spreading slowly northwest into the Four Corners region.
Additional fire activity in northern California was also producing a
region of far-reaching light density smoke that moved generally
eastward into northern Nevada and southern regions of Idaho and
Oregon. Thick smoke was observed near the immediate area of the fires.
Canada and the North-Central United States...
Primarily light density smoke originated from Siberian wildfires
continue to trek eastward through Canada and possibly into the northern
CONUS. The highest concentrations are found across central-northern
Canada, including northeastern Saskatchewan, central and northern
Manitoba, the Northwestern Territories, and Nunavut. Faint signatures
of light density smoke was also potentially stretching from eastern
British Columbia to central Ontario, and into the Dakotas, Minnesota,
and Iowa. Smoke signatures in the Northern Plains were very difficult
to see, and clouds in the Central Plains obscured visibility of further
smoke transport.
Pacific Northwest...
Several wildfires over eastern Washington and northern Oregon were
producing light density plumes that were moving off to the east.
DUST:
An area of light density Saharan dust was observed over the Atlantic
Ocean approximately 500 miles south-southeast of Bermuda.
Konon
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