Thursday, September 23, 2005

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1615Z September 23, 2005

Area extending from Texas/Oklahoma to off the Middle Atlantic coast:
A large area with a hazy appearance on satellite imagery this morning
covers much of central and eastern Texas, Oklahoma, and southeastern
Kansas, extending eastward across Arkansas and southern Missouri, then all
the way to off the Middle Atlantic coast. The western portion of this area
can be seen best with GOES-West imagery early this morning due to the low
sun angle. GOES-East does show the eastern portion to some extent. This
large hazy area likely consists of a combination of haze/pollution and
possibly leftover smoke from a large number of mostly agricultural burns
detected over this region yesterday. Subsidence to the north and west of
Hurricane Rita along with convergence to the south of a frontal boundary
is aiding in creating a more concentrated area of haze/pollution/smoke.

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.