DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0200Z September 16, 2020

SMOKE:
Eastern Pacific/Much of Lower 48/Northwestern Mexico/Southern
Canada/Atlantic off the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, and Canadian Maritimes…
More exceptionally widespread smoke from the ongoing large wildfires
in the Western U.S. continued to be visible across portions of the
eastern Pacific, much of the lower 48 (with the exception of the region
from eastern Texas to South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida), southern
Canada, northwestern Mexico, and over the Atlantic off the coast of the
Mid-Atlantic, the Northeast, and the Canadian Maritimes. Thicker smoke
covered an unusually large area including virtually all of the Western
U.S. though it gradually thinned out to moderate density over portions
of the Southwest. Thicker smoke also extended east over roughly the
northern half of the lower 48, southwestern and southeastern Canada,
to off the coast of the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, and Canadian Maritimes
where it became entrained into the circulation of the former tropical
system named Paulette.

DUST:
Areas of Saharan dust were seen this morning again over the central and
eastern subtropical portions of the Atlantic with some thinner density
Saharan dust appearing to have shifted more to the west over Puerto Rico.

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

Unless otherwise indicated:

Areas of smoke are analyzed using GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST Visible satellite imagery.

Only a general description of areas of smoke or significant smoke plumes will be analyzed.

A quantitative assessment of the density/amount of particulate or the vertical distribution is not included.

Widespread cloudiness may prevent the detection of smoke even from significant fires.