DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1630Z April 26, 2017
SMOKE: SOUTHEASTERN GEORGIA/NORTHEASTERN FLORIDA/SOUTHERN SOUTH CAROLINA... Fires in the Okefenokee Swamp were still detected this morning resulting in a large mass of mainly thin density smoke which appeared to spread to the north and northeast covering a portion of northeastern Florida, southeastern Georgia, southern South Carolina and off the Georgia and South Carolina coast over the Atlantic. Moderately dense smoke was visible closer to the actual fires in southeastern Georgia. WESTERN GULF OF MEXICO/BAY OF CAMPECHE/SOUTHERN AND SOUTHEASERN TEXAS/SOUTHERN LOUISIANA... A very large area of thin density smoke attributed to the ongoing seasonal fires occurring in southeastern Mexico and Central America was visible over the Bay of Campeche and the Western Gulf of Mexico extending northward into southern and southeastern Texas and southern Louisiana. An embedded patch of moderately dense smoke was located over the Bay of Campeche and a portion of the Yucatan Peninsula. NORTHERN MEXICO/SOUTHWESTERN TEXAS... A plume of thin to moderately dense smoke emanating from a fire in the northern part of the Mexican state of Coahuila in northern Mexico was moving to the east with the leading edge of the thinner density smoke nearly reaching the border of southwestern Texas between Del Rio and Laredo. DUST: TEXAS/OKLAHOMA/NORTHERN MEXICO... A large area of leftover thin to perhaps moderately dense blowing dust was seen over a significant portion of Texas and likely stretching northward into the eastern half of Oklahoma where it becomes obscured by clouds. The dust also extended southward into northern Mexico and off the coast of southern Texas over the extreme western Gulf of Mexico. New streaks of dust were visible this morning originating from sources in western Texas to the north of Midland and spreading to the southeast. JS 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.ospo.noaa.gov/Products/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