DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1545Z September 22, 2005

Middle/Lower Mississippi Valley/Southeast US:
Morning GOES-West Visible imagery and to some extent GOES-East Visible
imagery depicts haze in an anticyclonically curved band stretching from
the western Gulf of Mexico (off the TX/LA coast) northward across the
lower and middle Mississippi Valley, then eastward over Kentucky/Tennessee
and the Carolinas to off the Outer Banks of eastern North Carolina. While
this most likely primarily consists of haze/pollution, it may also
contain residual smoke from numerous agricultural and a few wildfires
analyzed across the region yesterday. Subsidence to the north and west
of Hurricane Rita and the presence of a large vertically stacked ridge
are factors contributing to create a rather stagnant environment.

JS

Unless otherwise indicated:

Areas of smoke are analyzed using GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST Visible satellite imagery.

Only a general description of areas of smoke or significant smoke plumes will be analyzed.

A quantitative assessment of the density/amount of particulate or the vertical distribution is not included.

Widespread cloudiness may prevent the detection of smoke even from significant fires.