DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0300Z MAY 13, 2006.
Gulf of Mexico/Florida: Smoke from the large number of fires across Mexico and Central America continued to be concentrated along and ahead of a front which moved into the southern Gulf of Mexico. The band of thin to moderately dense smoke stretched from the Bay of Campeche to the Florida Keys and across southern Florida to the Bahamas. The densest portion of the smoke appeared to be north of the Yucatan Peninsula and also over the Bay of Campeche. The large fire along the Hendry-Palm Beach-Broward county border region flared up significantly this afternoon and evening sending a thick batch of smoke eastward across southeastern Florida between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. Other smoke from this fire spread across the remainder of southeastern Florida including portions of Miami and toward the Bahamas. Northern California/Oregon/Idaho: At least a dozen smoke producing fires were noted across northern California, Oregon, and central Idaho. A number of the smoke plumes were rather significant producing moderately dense to even locally dense smoke. Dakotas/South Central Canada: A large number of what are believed to be primarily agricultural fires were detected particularly across south central Canada. A few small puffs of smoke were observed with a number of these fires which were generally moving in a westward direction. JS