DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z September 29, 2025
SMOKE: Western Canada/Pacific NW/Pacific Coast… Wildfire activity continues to be analyzed across the southern Northwest Territories, west-central Saskatchewan, and northern Alberta. Along with that wildfire activity, the three major wildfire across central Washington State, coupled with another wildfire in far southwestern Oregon and a couple lesser wildfires across the interior Pacific Northwest, were also analyzed in imagery today. However, widespread cloud cover was also present across much of the Pacific Northwest, northern California, and western Canada was acting to obscure much of the smoke production from these wildfires, while also hampering the ability to analyze smaller fires that have been present throughout the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada. This being said, moderately thick remnant smoke was observed extending southward from the cloud mass across the California coast and out over the Pacific. A second area of likely moderate to perhaps thick smoke was observed through breaks in the cloud cover over northern Alberta. The exact extent and density of this area is uncertain, but does make sense given the atmospheric flow out of the south to south-southwest across the region. Light smoke was observed being drawn eastward across the Canada/CONUS boundary, Great Lakes, Maritime Provinces, and south of Newfoundland into a cyclone well south of Greenland. Southeastern CONUS… Widespread agricultural burning was observed throughout the day across the southeastern CONUS. Isolated to widespread light smoke production from the agricultural burning activity was observed, mainly moving off toward the southwest, with only a couple that also had smoke move northwestward if the smoke plume was deep enough. The densest coverage of smoke plumes was observed across Alabama and Mississippi. Cumulus coverage across the southeast early this afternoon may have hampered the ability to analyze smoke. North-central CONUS into south-central Canada… Isolated to scattered burning activity was observed from northern Missouri into southeastern Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba this afternoon. Most plumes were of light smoke, but one or two did produce more moderate density smoke. The plumes were generally moving North-northwestward with smoke over southern Manitoba moving more westward. BLOWING DUST: Southern Saskatchewan… Strong winds were observed lofting dust from a couple dry lake beds scattered throughout southern Saskatchewan. The dust was being transported west-northwestward to northwestward from the parent sources. 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: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