DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0000Z MAY 8, 2006.
Western Gulf of Mexico: Widespread smoke covers much of the western half of the Gulf of Mexico west of about 88W. The source continues to be the tremendous number of fires over the eastern tip of Yucatan peninsula and southern Mexico. There are 3 distinct areas where the smoke is more dense. One area is just off the Louisiana coast and extends south to about 25N between 90W and 93W. Another area is in the Bay of Campeche and is roughly between 92W and 95W and reaching to 25N. The most dense area is over and north of the eastern tip of the Yucatan extending to about 75 km offshore. It is possible that elevated smoke has also reached inland areas of east Texas and Louisiana but extensive cloudiness across the region precludes accurate smoke detection. Cuba/Florida: Numerous fires across northern Cuba are forming a mass of smoke that is heading north covering from 81w to 85w and entering Florida in the Marco/Naples area. The thickest part of this mass is observed coming from Cardenas,Cuba and covering the western Florida Keys as well as reaching Marco, Florida. A wildfire in New Smyrna Beach is producing a narrow dense smoke plume that extends nearly 200km to the east-northeast over the Atlantic. A fire in northern Osceola county is producing a moderately dense smoke plume extending east-northeastward about 150km crossing over Cape Canaveral. In northeast Highlands county there is a small fire that is giving off a thin smoke plume that extends into southern Osceola county. A fire on the western border of Broward and Palm Beach counties is creating a thin to locally moderately dense smoke plume that extends 115km in an eastward direction and extending into the Atlantic. Wisconsin: A fire located in northern Wisconsin in the Chequamegon National Forest produced a narrow thin smoke plume that extended 50km northeast towards the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Ruminski/Banks