DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z August 18, 2025
SMOKE: Northwest Territories…. An area of of light density smoke from ongoing wildfires persisted over the Northwest Territories and extended across northern Nunavut and the Arctic. Moderate smoke was concentrated in the southern Northwest Territories and moved to the east. Western United States… Large plumes from fires in Idaho, northern Nevada and Wyoming were observed, with thick-to-moderate density smoke spreading to the northeast. Smaller plumes from fires in Oregon, Utah, and Arizona were also seen moving northeast. Central and Eastern United States, South Central Canada and the Atlantic Ocean... A large area of mostly light density smoke from wildfire activity in the western United States and southeastern Canada covered much of the eastern United States, from the Gulf to the Great Lakes. Smoke drifted to the east over the Atlantic and north towards Greenland. DUST: Tropical Atlantic Ocean…. An area of Saharan Dust was seen northeast of the Caribbean Islands in the central Atlantic Ocean. Mills 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