DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0140Z September 26, 2021
SMOKE: California/Northwestern U.S./Pacific... The KNP Complex fire in the Sequoia National Park of southern California continued to burn vigorously during the afternoon and evening hours. Moderate-to-thick smoke plumes were dispersing primarily westward across the San Joaquin Valley, reaching the coastal areas from Monterey to Santa Maria and advancing southwestward for approximately 500 miles over the Pacific Ocean. Light-to-moderate smoke was spiraling counterclockwise over the Pacific reaching areas to the south in northern Baja California. Several wildfires were also observed over northern California, central-southern Oregon, northern and central Idaho, western and central Montana, producing light to locally moderate smoke progressing mostly to the east. Mississippi Valley... An area of predominantly light density smoke was observed traveling eastward from Oklahoma and northern Texas, across the Mississippi Valley, and into Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. A small pocket of moderate density smoke was embedded in the larger light density plume covering the Louisiana and Arkansas border. Northwestern Atlantic... A detached light density plume left over from the western U.S. wildfires was detected approximately 200 miles east of the New England coastline and just south of Nova Scotia. DUST: Central Atlantic... Light Saharan dust was seen entering the HMS domain approximately 500 miles east of the eastern Caribbean islands. YL 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