DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1700Z August 18, 2022
SMOKE: Much of Canada/Northwestern and Eastern United States…. Fire activity over the northwestern United States, southwestern Canada and northern Canada were combining to produce a large area of mostly light density smoke that was extending across most of the northwestern and eastern CONUS and much of Canada. Within this area localized areas of moderate to high density smoke were seen near the ongoing fire activity over the area. A larger area of moderate density smoke was also seen extending from northern Saskatchewan northeast towards portions of northern Quebec. Some of the smoke across the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf Coast and perhaps areas across Florida extending just into the Atlantic, is likely co-located with remnant Saharan Dust. DUST: Tropical and Subtropical Atlantic Ocean and the eastern Caribbean Sea…. An area of Saharan Dust was seen extending from the Sahara into the central Tropical Atlantic. From here, the dust thins, at times to the point of not being discernible, as it moves across the eastern Caribbean. The dust is then discernible across the southern and western Caribbean. From here, the dust is likely moving into the Gulf of Mexico and possibly across the Gulf Coast, but as stated previously, at least some remnant smoke is likely present in these areas. 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 map: https://www.ospo.noaa.gov/data/land/fire/currenthms.jpg Smoke data: https://satepsanone.nesdis.noaa.gov/pub/FIRE/web/HMS/Smoke_Polygons Fire data: https://satepsanone.nesdis.noaa.gov/pub/FIRE/web/HMS/Fire_Points ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS REGARDING THIS PRODUCT SHOULD BE SENT TO: SSDFireTeam@noaa.gov