DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0129Z August 12, 2021
SMOKE: Pacific off California and Oregon coast/Western and Central U.S./Great Lakes region/Eastern third of U.S… A large area of smoke mainly attributed to wildfires occurring in the western U.S. with some contribution from wildfires in southern British Columbia was seen stretching from off the coast of Oregon and California to the east and inland over much of the western U.S. and across the Rockies to the Northern and Central Plains. The smoke then continued over the Great Lakes region and Middle Mississippi Valley where it then fanned out as it covered roughly the eastern third of the U.S. The thickest smoke was seen in a band extending from Oregon and northern and central California eastward over portions of Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, and Minnesota. Moderately dense smoke appeared to be over the Great Lakes region, the Ohio Valley region, and a large portion of the northeastern US. Western Canada… Areas of smoke were visible over portions of British Columbia and Alberta attributed to wildfires occurring primarily in British Columbia. Patches of moderately dense to thick smoke were visible closer to some of the more active wildfires and in the valley regions of southern British Columbia. Eastern Canada and Western/Central Atlantic... Smoke transport primarily from recent central and western Canadian and western U.S. wildfire activity was continuing this morning with smoke of varying density spreading to the northeast and east over southeastern Ontario, Hudson Bay, much of Quebec, the Canadian Maritimes, a portion of the Labrador Sea, and well out over the Atlantic south of Greenland. DUST: Caribbean Sea... A thin layer of Saharan dust was visible over the eastern Caribbean Sea. Eglin 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