Thursday, August 22, 2024

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0040Z August 23, 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 and Mountain West regions of the United
States, continues to be observed today throughout the majority of Canada
and the West to the Northeast 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, moving east-southeast
over the Hudson Bay, through central Saskatchewan and Manitoba, into
Ontario and the Midwest region of the United States. The smoke was seen
extending east over Newfoundland and Labrador and into the Labrador Sea
before extending further into the northern Atlantic Ocean reaching as
far as the coasts of western Europe. An area of moderate smoke was also
observed extending south from Ontario, through the Ohio Valley, where it
dispersed into the Southeastern U.S and parts of the Gulf of Mexico. The
smoke also extended further east from Ontario, through eastern Canada
and into the Atlantic Ocean. Cloud cover settled over majority of Canada
and parts of the northern U.S, which prevented further observations of
smoke previously mentioned in the morning’ analysis. Despite the cloud
cover, it can be assumed moderate to thick density smoke is concealed
and present from the wildfires over in Northwestern Territories, Nunavut,
and central Canada.

Pacific Northwest/Idaho/Wyoming...
Moderate-to-thick plumes of smoke were observed emanating from several
large wildfires throughout central Idaho and northern Wyoming.

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 central 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

 


Unless otherwise indicated:
  • Areas of smoke are analyzed using GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST Visible satellite imagery.
  • Only a general description of areas of smoke or significant smoke plumes will be analyzed.
  • A quantitative assessment of the density/amount of particulate or the vertical distribution is not included.
  • Widespread cloudiness may prevent the detection of smoke even from significant fires.