Tuesday, July 20, 2021

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0100Z July 21, 2021

SMOKE:
Alaska/Canada/U.S....
Ongoing wildfire activity across the western CONUS and western Canada was
continuing to contribute to an expansive area of smoke that blanks much of
North America and extends across the northern Atlantic Ocean. The thickest
smoke is being emitted from the western CONUS (Dixie and Tamarack Fires
in CA, the Bootleg Fire in OR, the Cedar Creek and Cub Creek 2 Fires in
WA), western Canada (mainly southern BC), and central Canada (northern
SK into western ON). Smoke from the fires in western Canada can be seen
moving both north and north-northwestward into the Yukon and Alaska and
northeastward into central Canada and eastward across Hudson Bay. Smoke
from the Oregon and California fires is seen moving around the northern
periphery of high pressure over the western CONUS, reaching the Great
Lakes. A combination of central Canadian and western Canadian smoke is
most responsible for the smoke over the rest of the central and eastern
CONUS and out into the North Atlantic. A new, thick-smoke producing fire
is also observed east of Bakersfield along the southeastern rim of the
San Joaquin Valley.


DUST:
Caribbean/Atlantic...
A moderate plume of Saharan dust was observed moving westward across
the central and eastern Caribbean. The western edge of the dust layer
was over the eastern Bahamas, eastern Cuba, Jamaica, eatern Honduras,
and northeastern Nicaragua. Another thick layer of Saharan Dust was
observed emerging of the African Coast, almost reaching the central
Tropical Atlantic.

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

 


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.