DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0300Z October 26, 2005
Southern and Southeastern US: A concentrated batch of fires across southern and eastern Arkansas was producing numerous smoke plumes which were moving in a SSE direction. Other scattered smoke producing fires were detected across the region stretching from the Florida panhandle westward to southeastern Texas. All smoke was moving generally in a SE or SSE direction. Some of the fires closer to the Gulf coast were responsible for smoke plumes that extended out over the Gulf of Mexico more than 100 miles from their source. South Dakota: Several fires in the Black Hills region of western SD were producing locally thick smoke plumes which were moving southeastward. Smoke from these fires was still confined to western South Dakota prior to sunset. North Dakota/Southern Canada: An amazing number of agricultural burns were detected across North Dakota and the southern portions of Saskatchewan and Manitoba Provinces of southern Canada. Smoke from only a few of these fires though was detected in GOES visible imagery late this afternoon and evening. Movement of the smoke varied greatly across the region due to changes in wind direction. Western US: Cloudiness ahead of an approaching frontal system quickly moved into Washington, Oregon, and the northern half of California which limited the ability to detect smoke. Before the clouds had moved in quite a few fires were still detected across the region. These fires are likely still producing smoke, just as they were last evening, but clouds are preventing detection. Before the clouds moved in, some smoke was noted from a concentrated area of fires over northeastern Oregon, the Idaho panhandle, and eastern Washington. The smoke was moving mostly in a northward direction. In addition, an area of detached smoke, likely leftover from all of the fires detected yesterday across California and Oregon was seen moving northward across eastern Washington into British Columbia Province of southwestern Canada. JS