Thursday, May 29, 2025

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1510Z May 29, 2025

SMOKE:
Canada/Northern U.S. Plains/Great Lakes/Atlantic Ocean…
Extensive wildfire activity in east-central Saskatchewan, west-central
Manitoba, and western Ontario continued to generate large swathes of
moderate to heavy smoke. The core of heavy smoke remained concentrated
over southern Manitoba, stretching eastward across northern Ontario,
southern Hudson Bay, and into Quebec and Newfoundland. A broad plume of
moderate density smoke extended southward into the northern U.S. Plains,
reaching as far as Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, with lighter
smoke spread across the northeastern U.S. and over the Atlantic Ocean.

In western Canada, persistent fires in northeastern British Columbia
and central Alberta also produced substantial smoke, which drifted
northeast into the southern Northwest Territories. The overall smoke field
encompassed much of central and eastern Canada, with significant overlap
of smoke layers leading to areas of enhanced concentration. The western
edge of the smoke boundary hugged the eastern slopes of the Rockies,
while the eastern edge extended far offshore into the North Atlantic.

AEROSOL/SMOKE:
Mexico/Gulf of America/Southern Texas/Pacific Ocean...
An expansive area of light-density smoke and aerosols, attributed to
widespread seasonal fire activity, volcanic emissions, and industrial
sources throughout central and southern Mexico, was observed this evening
extending over northern and southern Mexico, southern Texas, the Pacific
Ocean off Mexico’s western and southern coastline, and the Bay of
Campeche. This smoke and aerosol combination is likely over central
Mexico but heavy cloud cover prevented further analysis in the region.

Dust:
Tropical Atlantic…
Saharan Dust was seen extending westward from the African coast to the
central Caribbean Sea, Hispaniola, and into the Central Atlantic.

Cardona

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

 


Unless otherwise indicated:
  • Areas of smoke are analyzed using GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST Visible satellite imagery.
  • Only a general description of areas of smoke or significant smoke plumes will be analyzed.
  • A quantitative assessment of the density/amount of particulate or the vertical distribution is not included.
  • Widespread cloudiness may prevent the detection of smoke even from significant fires.