DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z August 17, 2025
SMOKE: Canada/Western CONUS... Heavy cloud cover continues to obscure smoke detection over much of the wildfires located across the Northwest Territories. Light density smoke that was observed without obstruction of the clouds was seen dispersing north towards the Beaufort Sea. Wildfires in southwestern Montana, central Idaho, central Wyoming, and northern Nevada remain active, producing light-to-heavy smoke blanketing much of the northern Great Plains. Moderate-to-heavy smoke was seen concentrated in southwestern South Dakota as the smoke continues to disperse eastward. Midwestern CONUS/Nova Scotia/Atlantic Ocean... Light smoke from the Western CONUS was observed persisting east across the Midwestern and Mid-Atlantic states as it travels northeast along the New England coast. It continues traveling over New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Labrador until it reaches the Labrador Sea. A large wildfire in Nova Scotia was seen producing light-to-heavy smoke that moves northeast and merges with the light smoke traveling towards the Labrador Sea. Light-to-moderate density smoke produced by the current wildfires in Europe was seen dispersed across much of the northern Atlantic Ocean as it travels west. DUST: Caribbean... Light-to-moderate dust from the Saharan Desert was observed alongside Hurricane Erin over the Atlantic Ocean and in close proximity to the Caribbean Islands. Libby 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:http://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