DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0200Z April 16, 2013
UPDATE (for additional blowing dust): Gulf of Mexico/Texas/Oklahoma/Arkansas: A large area of remnant smoke continued to be visible over the Gulf of Mexico this evening. Remnant smoke was also seen along cloud edges over east Texas, extending into Oklahoma and Arkansas. Blowing Dust: Southern California/Arizona/New Mexico: Multiple areas of blowing dust were visible in satellite imagery across the southwest US. Point sources for blowing dust/sand included southern California, northeast Arizona, and northwest New Mexico. Blowing dust/sand across southern California was thin density, while plumes moving from northeast Arizona/northwest New Mexico were medium density moving northeast into southern Utah/Colorado. New Mexico/Texas: By sunset, additional areas of mostly light blowing dust were seen spreading across much of central and eastern New Mexico and into west Texas and the Texas Panhandle. Dust was also originating over northern Chihuahua state in northern Mexico and extending into far west Texas. Southern California and Southern Nevada: In addition to the blowing dust in southern California noted above, there were areas of moderate to heavy dust over portions of desert southeast California, especially over Inyo and San Bernardino counties. Moderate to dense blowing dust was also detected over southern Nevada, especially over portions of Esmeralda, Nye and Clark counties. Most of this dust was moving to the east-northeast, except for that over Esmeralda county which was moving to the southeast. LP/MR Earlier Today: Gulf of Mexico: A very large area of remnant smoke can be seen over the majority of the Gulf of Mexico this morning and early afternoon. Numerous fires continue to burn through Mexico and Central America and this had led to the majority of this smoke being transported northward into the Gulf. Belge THIS TEXT PRODUCT IS PRIMARILY INTENDED TO DESCRIBE SIGNIFICANT AREAS OF 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