DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2345Z APRIL 15, 2006.
Updated to add sand storm across AZ. Central and Southern High Plains (NM/TX/OK/KS/NE): A large fire along the De Baca/Guadalupe/Lincoln county line in New Mexico has produced a narrow plume of moderately dense smoke that has been rapidly moving E into the TX panhandle. The smoke extends more than 315km from the source with an average width of 27km with the leading edge now crossing the northwest extents of the Palo Duro Canyon. This smoke is mixing with a larger area of airbourne dust/sand that will be described further below. A fire near Lelia Lake in Donley county is producing thin to moderately dense smoke that extends ENE 120km into Beckham county OK. The plume is about 15km wide. A very intense cyclone located near Kearney, NE has been producing very high surface winds across much of the central and southern Great Plains which has lead to producing a moderately dense area of airborne dust. The most dense dust/sand wraps in a band in the dry slot around the cyclone...this extends in a band that expands from about 31km wide near near Lexington, NE to 20km N of Broken Bow, to York wher it expands to about 100km wide as it bands SW through Concordia, KS to Pratt, KS to Gage, OK to Canadian, TX. A band of sand/dust extends ahead of the dry line from Burlington, KS SW to Ponca City, OK to Childress, TX...where there are clearly more dense plumes that appear to be coming from source regions near the Antelope Hills of W OK. A third area of dust and sand can be seen wrapping around the southern side of the cyclone and is covering most of NE and N central KS from Goodland to Hill City to NW Jewell county. Arizona: A large area of dust/sand is blowing across E AZ from the Phoenix metro area in Maricopa and Pinal counties. The plume is dense in a 70km wide area that extends from the source region across S Gila, S Navajo, S Apache, N Greenlee and N Graham counties with the leading edge entering NM near in the N San Franciso Mtns. of N Catron county. Virginia/North Carolina: A large fire north of Patrick Springs in Patrick county is producing a large amount of moderately dense smoke that is fanning out from due E to SE of the origin. The fan extends more than 185km to the east into Lunenburg and Mecklenburg counties and extends southeast more than 225km into central North Carolina (Johnston county) Mississippi: A fire near Monarch in Jones county is producing a thin plume of smoke that extends NE 110km to the AL/MS boarder in Lauderdale county. The plume is on average 10km wide. Mexico: Tamaulipas: An explosively dense smoke from a fire on the front range of the Sierra Madre Oriental NE of Palmillas has reached and overshot the tropopause and is now spreading both southeastward and westward. The westward moving plume extends 30km and is about 30km wide as well. The southeast moving smoke is a little less dense, and extends 70km and is about 35km wide. Gallina