DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0230Z March 19, 2018
SMOKE: New Jersey… Multiple fires scattered primarily across central and southern New Jersey were emitting visible smoke plumes of mainly thin density which spread to the southeast eventually offshore. Central and South Central US… Cloudiness over the region significantly limited fire and smoke detection in satellite imagery in this area. Western Texas… Several fires over western and southwestern Texas produced long narrow thin density smoke plumes which moved rapidly off to the northeast. DUST: Northern Mexico/Southern and Eastern New Mexico/Western and Southwestern Texas/Southwestern Oklahoma… Strong west and southwest winds kicked up areas of blowing dust of varying density from multiple point sources over northern Chihuahua in north central Mexico, southern and southeastern New Mexico (including White Sands), and western and southwestern Texas. The multiple dust plumes expanded and merged into a larger swath spreading northeast reaching into southwestern Oklahoma just prior to sunset. JS Earlier This Morning... Florida… Several fires south of Lake Okeechobee are producing thin density smoke plumes that are combining and traveling southeast towards the Atlantic. -Westbrook 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