DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0145Z April 17, 2013
Gulf of Mexico: Remnant thin density smoke covers much of the central Gulf of Mexico. This smoke likely originated from numerous fires in Mexico, including several on the Yucatan Peninsula. The days-old detached smoke is circulating and re-circulating in the Gulf as a result of the large scale flow, with new smoke entering the mix daily. Blowing Dust/Sand: Four Corners (UT, AZ, NM, CO): Very dense blowing sand/dust is observed swiftly moving NE through 0145Z (local sunset) in the vicinity of the four corners region. Dust/sand is mainly originating from 2 areas: 1) The desert area located approx 30mi NE of Flagstaff, AZ and 2) The desert area extending 10 to 75mi north of Gallup, NM. Collectively, a broad area of sand/dust is seen sweeping from NE Arizona through the far SE corner of UT , NW corner of New Mexico, and much of the western half of Colorado this evening. Heavy cloud cover is preventing detection beyond that, though it is likely that the dust edge extends further. Ramirez 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