DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0100Z March 25th, 2013
Gulf of Mexico: A broad, light density remnant smoke mass encompasses the majority of the Gulf of Mexico. The smoke is moving east north east from the Yucatan Peninsula and reaches as far east as over southern Florida and barely into the Bahamas. Cuba: Semi-large wildfires scattered along the northern perimeter of Cuba are producing light to moderate density smoke streamers that reach as far north as the Florida Keys and the southern tip of the Florida Peninsula. Bahamas: Several smoke producing wildfires are located on Northern Andros Island, Bahamas, and Great Abaco Island, Bahamas. As of local sunset the light density smoke, embedded with areas of moderate smoke, was moving north-northeast away from the U.S. Florida coast. Blowing Dust: A band of light to moderate density blowing dust/sand stretches from the southern tip of Texas northeast across the northern Gulf of Mexico and into the Florida panhandle. This dust/sand has been visible for the past 24hrs and originated from dry lake beds in northern Chihuahua, Mexico and the deserts of White Sands, NM after strong surface winds associated with a frontal boundary occurred yesterday. Ramirez THIS TEXT PRODUCT IS PRIMARILY INTENDED TO DESCRIBE SIGNIFICANT AREAS SMOKE ASSOCIATED WITH ACTIVE FIRES AND SMOKE WHICH HAS BECOME DETACHED FROM THE FIRES AND DRIFTED SOME DISTANCE AWAY FROM THE SOURCE FIRE..TYPICALLY OVER THE COURSE OF ONE OR MORE DAYS. AREAS OF BLOWING DUST ARE ALSO DESCRIBED. USERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO VIEW A GRAPHIC DEPICTION OF THESE AND OTHER PLUMES WHICH ARE LESS EXTENSIVE AND STILL ATTACHED TO THE SOURCE FIRE IN VARIOUS GRAPHIC FORMATS ON OUR WEB SITE: JPEG: http://www.osdpd.noaa.gov/ml/land/hms.html GIS: http://www.firedetect.noaa.gov/viewer.htm KML: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/FIRE/kml.html ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS REGARDING THIS PRODUCT SHOULD BE SENT TO SSDFireTeam@noaa.gov