DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1715Z August 17, 2024
SMOKE: Canada/Midwest and Eastern United States/Gulf of Mexico/Atlantic Ocean... A layer of mixed density smoke attributed to a combination of seasonal burning throughout the United States and the significant amount of wildfire activity across north-central and central Canada, as well as the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, continues to be observed today throughout the majority of Canada and the Midwest to the Coastal Atlantic regions of the United States. This mixed density smoke was seen extending from the central parts of the Northwest Territories and British Columbia, through central Saskatchewan and Manitoba, moving east through Ontario and Quebec and over the Labrador Sea before extending further east into the northern Atlantic Ocean near the coasts of western Europe. Moderate-to-thick density smoke was observed covering areas throughout eastern Canada, the Midwest and Northeast regions of the United States, and parts of the northern Atlantic Ocean; with the thickest density smoke seen in areas over New England and the northern Atlantic Ocean. Seasonal fire activity across the Southeast region of the United States continues to produce a layer of light density smoke that was seen extending south-southwest into the eastern portion of the Gulf of Mexico, where it began moving northeast across Florida and into the Atlantic Ocean as it was pulled by the winds of Hurricane Ernesto in the east-central area of the Atlantic Ocean. Pacific Northwest/Northwest Territories... Numerous wildfires throughout the Pacific Northwest region continue to be observed today, including the Boise and Park fires located in northern California, as well as several fires throughout British Columbia and the Northwest Territories, Washington State, Oregon and Idaho. Plumes ranging from moderate to heavy, around the sources, were observed emanating from these wildfires, blanketing the area with a layer of moderate density smoke. DUST: A moderate amount of Saharan Dust was seen traveling westward across the Atlantic Ocean towards with a lighter amount of Saharan Dust seen over the central 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