DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0045Z February 19, 2007
South Carolina: A rather short duration burst of moderately dense to perhaps locally dense smoke from a fire located in Richland County of central South Carolina was observed moving quickly in an east-southeasterly direction early in the afternoon. The leftover smoke from this fire moved off the South Carolina coast just south of Myrtle Beach late in the afternoon. Other smoke plumes of thin density but very long were noted also moving to the east-southeast from fires in Chesterfield County of northern South Carolina and Berkeley County of eastern South Carolina. Florida: A cluster of what are believed to be mainly agricultural fires located south of Lake Okeechobee in southern Florida were emitting small smoke plumes which combined to form a very thin area of smoke that moved to the southeast across Palm Beach County and Broward County including the Ft. Lauderdale area and offshore. A batch of moderately dense to even locally dense smoke from fires in Wakulla County of the Florida panhandle moved southeast and well offshore during the afternoon. The smoke appeared to thin out greatly as it moved out over the Gulf of Mexico. Southern Alabama/Southern Mississippi/Louisiana: Numerous fires were detected in satellite imagery across much of this region during the day. Smoke plumes of mainly thin density moving rapidly in a southeasterly direction were visible from at least 20 fires. The most significant smoke was observed from a fire in western Winn Parish of north central Louisiana. The smoke from this fire was moderately dense to locally dense and fanned out as it moved to the south and east. Oklahoma: At least 3 fires producing smoke were evident over southeastern Oklahoma. The fires in Atoka and Pushmataha Counties were emitting long narrow plumes of thin density that spread off to the northeast. The fire in McCurtain County close to or in the McCurtain Wilderness Area was responsible for a moderately dense to locally dense batch of smoke which fanned out as it moved to the north and east. Texas: A fire in western Travis County of central Texas was producing a moderately dense smoke plume which was moving in a northerly direction. JS