Saturday, April 26, 2008

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0200Z APRIL 27, 2008

Western Canada/Western and Central US/Pacific Ocean:
Earlier Today:
Smoke of mainly thin density likely originating from recent large
Russian fires and possibly mixed with some Asian dust/sand continues
to move over portions of the eastern Pacific Ocean and across Canada
and the US.  GOES-West visible satellite imagery this morning showed a
patch of this residual smoke moving southward across the eastern Pacific,
just off the California and Baja coast.  Another thin ribbon of possible
residual smoke stretched from just off the Pacific Northwest coast,
inland over Washington and Oregon, and then southeastward and eastward
over Nevada and the 4 corners region, before turning northeast across
the Central Plains of Kansas/Missouri to the southern Great Lakes region.
More possible smoke extended from the Northern Plains southeastward over
Iowa and Illinois.  Finally, yet another very long swath of possible
smoke appeared to extend from the Northwest Territories of Canada
southeastward over portions of Alberta and Saskatchewan provinces of
Canada, to central Montana.

Currently in GOES-12 imagery:
Smoke has moved  east and north into most of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio,
parts of southern/eastern Michigan and into southern Ontario crossing
over the eastern sections of the Great Lakes.  The smoke has also spread
south across northern/central sections of Arizona and New Mexico, but
is beginning to reach the southern parts of the state.  Another large
area of smoke has movedsouth into eastern/central Montana, most of North
Dakota and southern/central Saskatchewan/Manitoba.

Texas/New Mexico/Arizona:
A relatively small patch of smoke was visible moving to the north
across southwestern Texas toward the Texas-New Mexico border just west
of Midland TX.  This smoke was leftover from a significant fire which
was burning yesterday and overnight across northern Brewster County
of southwestern Texas.  The smoke has spread into Reeves, Jeff Davis,
Pecos, Winkler, Ward, Loving counties Texas and Eddy county New Mexico.

A fire in northern Eddy county New Mexico is emitting light smoke east
into southern parts of Roosevelt county.

In eastern Greenlee county (near the town of Alpine) a wildfire is
emitting light to moderate smoke east into Catron county New Mexico.

California:
In southeast Los Angeles county a fire is producing light to moderately
dense smoke southwest into the Pacific.  Some of the smoke is reaching
northern sections of Orange county.

In central Fresno county a fire is producing light smoke moving south
into Tulare and King counties.

South Florida:
The fire in Sarasota county continues to burn producing light to
moderately dense smoke moving west SW into the Gulf of Mexico.  This fire
has been burning for a few days.




 


Unless otherwise indicated:
  • Areas of smoke are analyzed using GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST Visible satellite imagery.
  • Only a general description of areas of smoke or significant smoke plumes will be analyzed.
  • A quantitative assessment of the density/amount of particulate or the vertical distribution is not included.
  • Widespread cloudiness may prevent the detection of smoke even from significant fires.