Thursday, September 12, 2024

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

 


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.