DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0000Z December 06, 2007
GOES-12(East) satellite imagery was not available from 04/1645z through the present time. GOES-10 imagery has been substituted for GOES-12. Southeastern US: An incredible number of fires were detected today across the southern and southeastern US from eastern Texas to Georgia and Florida. Numerous smoke plumes were also observed in this region. Among the more noteworthy areas of smoke included a large mass of moderately dense to dense smoke which spread to the east-northeast across southeastern Georgia and northeastern Florida and offshore from a fire in Taylor County of northern Florida. Farther to the north a very long moderately dense to locally dense smoke plume from a fire in Liberty County of eastern Georgia moved to the east-northeast and off the southern South Carolina coast during the afternoon. Over Louisiana, moderately dense to locally dense smoke plumes were observed moving to the southeast and fanning out from fires in Grant and Rapides Parishes of central Louisiana. Scattered fires in the Parishes to the west of Lake Pontchartrain produced puffs of thin to moderately dense smoke which combined into a larger region of smoke that moved across the southern portions of the New Orleans metro area. A fire over southern Nevada County in southwestern Arkansas produced a moderately dense to dense smoke plume which fanned out as it moved to the south into northwestern Louisiana, just east of Shreveport. In southeastern Texas, a dense smoke plume spread out in multiple directions from a fire in Refugio County. NOTE...Due to the loss of GOES-12(East) imagery, not as much information could be obtained on the extent or density of smoke plumes west of the Central Plains. Since GOES-10 does not cover areas that far to the west, GOES-11(West) visible imagery was used instead. However, GOES-11(West) does not pick up on smoke plumes as well during the late afternoon due to the unfavorable sun angle. New Mexico: A smoke plume of at least thin density was observed moving to the east-northeast from a fire in northern Otero County of south central New Mexico. Arizona: Nearly 10 fires were detected across central and east central Arizona including portions of southern Coconino, northern Gila, southern Navajo, and southern Apache counties but little smoke was observed in satellite imagery due to a combination of the lack of GOES-East visible imagery and also cloudiness in the region. California: Smoke of at least moderate density was observed moving to the north early in the day from a fire in eastern Fresno County of central California. The smoke plume appeared to change direction and move more in a southerly direction later in the afternoon. Relatively small thin to moderately dense smoke plumes were also detected from fires near the Madera-Mariposa border, and also over El Dorado County. Again, not as much detail could be obtained on the density and the overall extent of these plumes due to the absence of GOES-East visible imagery. JS