Sunday, April 23, 2006

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0200z APRIL 24, 2006.

Mexico/Guatemala/Gulf of Mexico/Cuba
Fires burning in the western states of Mexico including Jalisco, Colima
Michoacan, Guerrero and Oaxaca are producing an area of moderately dense
smoke.  Smoke is mixing in with haze and moving west off the coast into
the Pacific.
Thinner smoke is spreading across the southern sections of the Gulf of
Mexico from fires burning across Tabasco, Chiapas, Campeche, Quintana
Roo, Yucatan in Mexico, north Guatemala and western Cuba.  The thin
smoke is moving north from the Mexican states and north Guatemala into
the western/central Gulf of Mexico.
Smoke from western Cuba is moving west into the eastern/central sections
of the Gulf of Mexico.  Smoke is possibly mixing in across the northern
sections of the Gulf of Mexico and near the U.S. coast, but haze and
clouds are making the full view of smoke difficult to see.
Large fires near Cancun in the state of Quintana Roo are emitting very
thick smoke which is part of the smoke mentioned above.  The plumes are
stretching 50-100 km into the Gulf of Mexico.

Arizona:
An intense fire is burning just north of Phoenix in Coconino county,
giving off a very narrow, but very dense smoke plume heading north just
reaching the southern Utah border.

New Mexico:
Several fires burning in Union county are creating a moderately dense
smoke plume that is moving north into Las Animas county of southeast
Colorado.  A small fire in DeBaca county is creating a thin smoke plume
that is just barely moving northward to the tip of the county line.

Washington:
A small plume of smoke is coming from a fire in Stevens county and
is heading southwest into Lincoln and Douglas counties.  Another fire
located in Whitman county is giving off a very narrow smoke plume that
is moving west towards Adams county.

North Dakota/South Dakota/Minnesota/Iowa/Wisconsin:
Many fires are burning within the Upper Mississippi Valley region today,
creating lots of thin smoke plumes.  The counties which are afflicted
by these smoke plumes are Richland, Grant, Douglas, Stearns, Sherburne,
Carver, McLeod, Sibley, Scott, Wright, Renville, Lac Qui Parle, Big Stone,
Rock, Lyon and Osceola.

Texas/Louisiana:
A fire burning in Tyler county is emitting a plume of moderately dense
smoke.  The smoke is moving north into the counties of Angelina, Trinity,
Polk and Houston.
Several fires are burning in the county of St. Tammany in Louisiana.
They are producing thin plumes of smoke moving north.

Banks/Kibler

 


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.