DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1725Z June 18, 2024
SMOKE: Midwestern and Eastern United States/Great Lakes Region/Atlantic Seaboard... A large area of light density remnant smoke attributed to a combination of smoke from several various sources continue to be observed covering much of Midwestern and Eastern regions of the United States, including the Great lakes area and the entirety of the Atlantic Seaboard. Remnant smoke from previous and ongoing wildfires throughout Canada and the northeastern region of the United States, fire activity throughout the central United States and continuing smoke and aerosols emanating from the Gulf of Mexico are all contributing to the vast combined area of smoke that can be seen covering areas over the Midwestern and Eastern regions of the United States as well as a significant portion of the northwestern Atlantic Ocean. The area of smoke seen over the Midwest was dispersing northeastward towards the Great Lakes, where it then began moving east towards the Atlantic Seaboard before dispersing into the northern Atlantic Ocean along with the large area of smoke seen covering the entire east coast. Ontario/Quebec/Labrador Sea... An area of remnant smoke attributed to several ongoing wildfires located throughout central and southern Canada was also observed this morning despite some cloud cover over the region. This area of remnant smoke appeared to be light density, covering parts of southern Ontario and Quebec. The smoke, which has combined with areas of smoke from the northeastern part of United States was observed moving east into the northern Atlantic Ocean before extending through the Labrador Sea. Northern California... A plume of moderate to heavy localized density smoke, attributed to a wildfire located northwest of Sacramento was observed this morning dispersing south-southwest in direction. New Mexico... Two fast growing wildfires located in a south-central New Mexico tribal reservation were observed emitting large plumes of moderate to heavy density smoke that were seen dispersing northeast in direction. The plumes extended as far as the central region of Kansas. As of this morning, the South Fork Fire has spanned approximately 14,000 acres with 0% containment, while the Salt Fire has spanned approximately 5,000 acres with 0% containment as well. AEROSOL/SMOKE: Gulf of Mexico/Yucatan Peninsula/Caribbean Sea/Central and Southern Mexico/Central America/Pacific Ocean... A large area of predominantly light to moderate density smoke attributed to widespread seasonal fire activity throughout central and southern Mexico and Central America was observed this morning from the Gulf of Mexico, central and southern Mexico and into the Pacific Ocean off the southwest coastline of Mexico. Heavy cloud cover over Central America, the Yucatan Peninsula and the Gulf of Mexico due to a tropical weather system prevented a more detailed analysis of the smoke throughout these regions. Saharan dust: A considerable amount of Saharan dust was observed this morning over the eastern and central regions of the Atlantic Ocean. The moderate edge of Saharan Dust is now encroaching on the Lesser Antilles. 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