DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0128Z May 19, 2024
SMOKE: Canada and the North Atlantic Ocean…. Numerous wildfires located throughout portions of Canada from the western Northwest Territories and northeast British Columbia to the central regions of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba continued to burn despite being concealed by persistent cloud cover throughout the day. Due to the large amount of ongoing wildfires and recently developed ones throughout these areas, a large area of smoke ranging from light to localized moderate density covered a majority of Canada, extending from the western part of the Yukon and northeast British Columbia across much of northern Canada and regions near the North Pole and then extending southeast through portions of Quebec and southeast Canada and then across much of the North Atlantic Ocean to just off the coast of western Europe. The highest density smoke was seen over portions of northwest Alberta, northeast British Columbia and the southern Northwest Territories. Central United States... An area of light density smoke was seen over portions of the Upper Midwest of the United States extending southwest into portions of the South Central United States. This smoke is likely a combination of the fire activity over Canada and also with fire activity over the Central United States. United States Pacific Northwest... Fire activity was observed throughout the US Pacific Northwest. Several mostly light density smoke plumes were seen in Oregon and Idaho, the smoke was generally moving south in direction through the region. Arizona... A wildfire around central Arizona was releasing light to moderate density smoke that was observed moving northeast remaining in the respective state as evening approached. AEROSOL/SMOKE: Southwest Atlantic Ocean, Southeastern United States, Gulf Coast States, Gulf of Mexico, Western Caribbean Islands, Central and Southern Mexico, northwestern Central America and Eastern Pacific Ocean... A large area of predominantly light to moderate density smoke attributed to widespread seasonal fire activity throughout central and southern Mexico and Central America was observed today from portions of the southwest Atlantic Ocean and western Caribbean Islands extending west and southwest through portions of the Southeastern and Gulf Coastal States of the United States, the Gulf of Mexico, central and southern Mexico, northwestern Central America and the eastern Pacific Ocean. The highest density smoke within this area was located over the far western Caribbean Sea, northwestern Central America, southeastern Mexico and much of the western Gulf of Mexico. Aerosols from volcanic emissions, industrial sources in Mexico and gas flaring activity in the southwest Gulf of Mexico were also likely associated with the southern portions of this expansive area of aerosol/smoke observed throughout these regions today. Blowing Dust: Oregon... Light blowing dust could be seen originating from south-central Oregon. This dust was blowing east in direction as evening approached. Eglin 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