DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0050Z July 23, 2024
SMOKE: Canada/United States/Atlantic Ocean... A significant amount of mixed density smoke attributed to a combination of numerous wildfires throughout the Pacific Northwest region and seasonal fire activity throughout the Continental United States continues to be observed today. Areas of moderate to thick density smoke were observed throughout the Pacific Northwest region, with the thickest smoke concentrated in the northern parts of British Columbia and Alberta and areas in the southern region of the Northwest Territories. This thick density smoke began to dissipate as it moved southeast across Alberta and Saskatchewan, becoming more moderate in density as it moved into the North Central and Great Lakes region of the United States while a band of moderate smoke continued extending to the east through Quebec before dispersing into the northern Atlantic Ocean. Areas of light to moderate density smoke were seen throughout the majority of the United States, with areas of moderate density smoke concentrated throughout the North Central and Pacific Northwest regions. Pacific Northwest... An area of moderate smoke was observed in the Pacific Northwest region attributed to the numerous wildfires located throughout southeast British Columbia, Washington State, Oregon, northern California and western Montana. These wildfires ranging from midsize to large have been seen producing moderate to thick localized smoke in previous days and continue to add to the larger area of smoke within the region. DUST: A moderate amount of Saharan dust was seen moving westward into the Atlantic Ocean, while a lighter amount of Saharan dust was seen off the East Coast of the United States and then moving into the western Caribbean Sea. Willkens 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