DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0145Z April 17, 2013
UPDATE: For additional blowing dust 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. An area of light blowing dust was also detected over portions of south central New Mexico and far west Texas. The sources of the dust were the dry plains of northern Chihuahua extending into the El Paso area and up into the White Sands region of south central New Mexico. The dust began around 20Z and extended until sunset and was moving to the east-northeast. A separate, small area of light blowing dust was also seen over northeast New Mexico in the Raton area. This began around 20Z and the dust was lifting to the north into south central Colorado. California: An area of light, mostly elevated blowing dust was detected over central and southern California. The dust plume was moving to the south and roughly extended from near Modesto to near Bakersfield. Ramirez/Ruminski 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