DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0300Z March 2, 2008
South Carolina: Moderately dense smoke plumes moved rapidly to the east across northern South Carolina from fires near the Union-Newberry County border and in Chesterfield County. Another very long moderately dense plume quickly spread eastward from a fire in Aiken County of western South Carolina. Fires in Georgetown County of eastern South Carolina produced thin to moderately dense smoke plumes which moved eastward and well off the coast over the Atlantic. Georgia: A tremendous number of fires were detected across Georgia during the day. The most noteworthy smoke plume was a moderately dense to dense plume which emanated from a fire in Jones County of central Georgia and moved in an easterly direction. Florida: Several major smoke producing fires were observed across the Florida Panhandle and northern Florida. Moderately dense to dense smoke moved mainly in a southerly direction from fires in Walton, Liberty, Leon, and Wakulla Counties. Farther to the east, fire in Union and Baker Counties were responsible for an area of moderately dense to perhaps locally dense smoke which fanned out as it moved in a southeasterly direction. Alabama: The most significant smoke plumes across Alabama were associated with fires in northern Macon County of east central Alabama and northern Clarke County of southwestern Alabama. The Macon County fire was emitting a thin to moderately dense plume which moved to the southeast across the GA border. The Clarke County fire produced a moderately dense to dense smoke plume which also spread in a southeasterly direction. Louisiana: Several thin northward moving smoke plumes were evident coming from fires scattered across the extreme southern Parishes of Louisiana. One fire over St. Bernard Parish was producing an area of thin smoke which affected the far eastern portion of New Orleans. Texas: A fire over northwestern Montgomery County of southeastern Texas was responsible for a moderately dense smoke plume which moved to the north. Farther to the west, a patch of thin to moderately dense smoke rapidly fanned out as it spread in an northward direction from a fire just north of Midland in southern Martin County of western Texas. A rapidly moving fire which began in Kent County and moved close to the Kent-Dickens border by late in the day produced a moderately dense to dense smoke plume which nearly reached the Oklahoma border by sunset. Oklahoma: Several very long thin smoke plumes were observed across central and eastern Oklahoma moving rapidly to the north-northeast. Arkansas: At least three large smoke plumes were evident in satellite imagery across western and northwestern Arkansas. Fires in Scott, Yell, and Pope Counties all produced moderately dense to dense smoke which moved primarily in a north-northeast direction. Hawaii: Smoke was visible moving to the north-northeast from a fire located in the north central portion of the Big Island of Hawaii on the eastern slopes of Mauna Kea. To the south, only a small patch of possible smoke was detected moving to the west-southwest from the lava flows associated with the Kilauea Volcano. Cloudiness across the southern part of the island was hindering additional smoke detection, JS