DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1700Z September 13, 2024
SMOKE: Canada/United States/Atlantic Ocean... An expansive area of light to moderate smoke was observed extending from wildfire activity in Western and Central Canada to the Gulf Coast and North Atlantic. The smoke was observed moving eastward from the parent activity in the NW Territory, NW Alberta, and NE BC. A cyclone over Saskatchewan is obscuring much of the wildfires analyzed over central Canada over the past few days and weeks, which may be obscuring smoke production from that wildfire activity. Smoke is then seen moving across Manitoba and Ontario, which could mean smoke production continues from the Central Canadian wildfires. The smoke is then seen moving across the Great Lakes, northeastern CONUS, and Maritime Provinces before extending out across the North Atlantic approaching Iceland. Remnant smoke from agricultural burning across the southeast, coupled with remnant smoke from wildfires across Southern California, are both adding to the smoke layer across the Great Plains, the Gulf of Mexico, and the southeastern CONUS. Southern California/Arizona… Wildfires across southern California were seen continuing to produce smoke, with smoke reaching as far northeastward as the Grand Canyon in NW Arizona. Another fire along the central Mogollon Rim was producing light smoke that was moving north then north-northeast into northeastern Arizona. AEROSOL/SMOKE: Central-Southern Mexico/Gulf of Mexico/Bay of Campeche/Yucatan Peninsula... Aerosol of moderate density was observed along the Mexican Coastal Plain, far western Gulf of Mexico, and Bay of Campeche, the origin of which is a mix of agricultural burning along eastern Mexico, gas flaring emissions across the bay of Campeche and Mexican Coastal Plain, and perhaps some remnant smoke from Canada/Southeast CONUS that has drifted far enough south. DUST: Saharan Dust: A light amount of Saharan Dust was seen moving westward across the Atlantic Ocean, extending as far westward as about 55W. Another two areas of thicker dust were seen emerging off the Western Sahara and the Senegal/Mauritania coasts. Hosley 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