DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0050Z September 13, 2024
SMOKE: Canada/United States/Atlantic Ocean... A large area of light to moderate density smoke attributed to a combination of wildfire activity in both Central Oregon and Idaho, seasonal burns, Canadian wildfires, and Mexican petroleum industries, was observed moving across the North American continent. The band of observable smoke began in the Southern region of Canada's Northwestern Territories and stretched all the way down towards the US Midwest where it intermixed with smoke coming from the ongoing wildfires east of Los Angeles, California. Observable moderate dense smoke extended from Texas, northward through the central U.S, and eastward between northern U.S and southern Canada. In addition, wildfires in northern British Columbia and Northwestern Territories were also producing moderate dense smoke, more concentrated within the region. Moderate to potentially thicker density smoke is likely present within northwestern U.S and central Canada, however heavy cloud cover prevented further analysis. AEROSOL/SMOKE: Central-Southern Mexico/Gulf of Mexico/Yucatan Peninsula/Central America/Cuba/Hispaniola/Pacific Ocean... A large area of predominantly light to moderate smoke attributed to widespread seasonal fire activity throughout central-southern Mexico, Yucatan Peninsula, Central America and northern South America was observed today over southern Mexico, Cuba, Hispaniola, the Gulf of Mexico, Central America, and the Pacific Ocean off the southern coastline of Mexico, and east over the northern Caribbean Sea. Moderate smoke was visible over the Yucatan Peninsula and Central America. Aerosols from a composite of volcanic emissions and industrial sources in Mexico contributed to the expansive area of aerosol/smoke seen in these regions today. DUST: A light amount of Saharan Dust was seen traveling westward across the Atlantic Ocean towards the Lesser Antilles with a lighter amount of Saharan Dust seen over the eastern Caribbean Sea. Nguyen 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