Images
September 11, 2024 - Coast-to-Coast Smoke and a Storm for North America
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Widespread smoke and a tropical storm were impacting much of North America on September 9, 2024, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) acquired this true-color image of the coast-to-coast natural hazards.
Gray smoke is the most obvious and widespread feature seen in this image. Fires burning on the West Coast of the United States, especially California, poured smoke into the atmosphere where it was blowing to the northeast. CAL FIRE reported 18 actively burning fires in California as of September 10. With 429,603 acres burnt in Butte and Tehama counties, the Park Fire was the largest. It is 99 percent contained. The Line Fire, located in heavily populated San Bernadino county, ignited on September 5, and had already grown to 27,974 acres as of September 10. It was only five percent contained. Dozens of wildfires were also scattered across Idaho.
A cloud of exceptionally thick, gray-and-tan smoke can be seen over the U.S. states of Montana, eastern Idaho, and the Canadian provinces of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. Formed by a combination of smoke from fires in California, Idaho, Oregon, and western Montana as well as fires in Alberta and Saskatchewan, the smoke made it impossible to view the landscape below. Thin lines of smoke, primarily from fires in Western Canda, trailed across the continent and dipped southward into the United States where it was joined by more smoke pumped out by widespread agricultural fires or prescribed burns in the Mississippi Valley and southern states.
Further south, Tropical Storm Francine filled the western Gulf of Mexico with spinning clouds as it strengthened and tracked towards Louisiana. Late on September 10, Francine had become a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour (137 km/h). It is expected to strengthen slightly before making landfall on the evening of September 12 but should remain at Category 1 strength.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 9/9/2024
Resolutions:
1km (6.6 MB),
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Widespread smoke and a tropical storm were impacting much of North America on September 9, 2024, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) acquired this true-color image of the coast-to-coast natural hazards.
Gray smoke is the most obvious and widespread feature seen in this image. Fires burning on the West Coast of the United States, especially California, poured smoke into the atmosphere where it was blowing to the northeast. CAL FIRE reported 18 actively burning fires in California as of September 10. With 429,603 acres burnt in Butte and Tehama counties, the Park Fire was the largest. It is 99 percent contained. The Line Fire, located in heavily populated San Bernadino county, ignited on September 5, and had already grown to 27,974 acres as of September 10. It was only five percent contained. Dozens of wildfires were also scattered across Idaho.
A cloud of exceptionally thick, gray-and-tan smoke can be seen over the U.S. states of Montana, eastern Idaho, and the Canadian provinces of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. Formed by a combination of smoke from fires in California, Idaho, Oregon, and western Montana as well as fires in Alberta and Saskatchewan, the smoke made it impossible to view the landscape below. Thin lines of smoke, primarily from fires in Western Canda, trailed across the continent and dipped southward into the United States where it was joined by more smoke pumped out by widespread agricultural fires or prescribed burns in the Mississippi Valley and southern states.
Further south, Tropical Storm Francine filled the western Gulf of Mexico with spinning clouds as it strengthened and tracked towards Louisiana. Late on September 10, Francine had become a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour (137 km/h). It is expected to strengthen slightly before making landfall on the evening of September 12 but should remain at Category 1 strength.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 9/9/2024
Resolutions:
1km (6.6 MB),
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
