DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1645Z August 21, 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 western, 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 western parts of the Northwest Territories and British Columbia, into Nunavut, through central Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and then moving east-southeast through Ontario and Quebec, and into the Midwest, Southeast and Northeast regions of the United States. The smoke was seen continuing east over the Labrador Sea before extending further into the northern Atlantic Ocean near the coasts of western Europe, while an area of moderate smoke was also observed extending south from Saskatchewan, through the Mississippi Valley and into the northern part of the Gulf of Mexico. Moderate-to-thick density smoke was observed covering areas extending from the Pacific Ocean off the coast of western Canada, throughout north-west and north-central Canada, regions near the North Pole and parts of the Hudson Bay and northern Atlantic Ocean. Thick density smoke was concentrated closer to the sources of the wildfires, and was observed over northwestern Nunavut, north-central Alberta and Saskatchewan, and parts of Ontario. 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 towards the Gulf States, and east towards the eastern shores. DUST: A moderate 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 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