DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2300Z March 8, 2007
A very large number of fires were detected stretching from eastern Oklahoma across the lower and middle Mississippi valley and across the southeast. Many smoke plumes were associated with these fires but special note will be made only for the larger plumes. Alabama/Georgia/South Carolina/North Carolina/Florida: The largest cluster of fires with numerous small smoke plumes was over southern Alabama, southern Georgia and northern Florida. Smoke from the fires in southwest Alabama was generally thin and drifting to the north and northeast with most of the plumes less than 25 km long. Smoke from a number of fires in southeast Alabama in Macon, Bullock, Barbour and Russell counties has merged together to cover most of these counties near sunset. This smoke was mainly thin with areas of moderate density. Fires in Wakulla and Franklin counties in Florida produced long plumes of thin smoke that drifted out into the Gulf of Mexico. A fire in western Putnam county Georgia had a plume of moderate density that was moving to the east. A moderate density smoke plume extended from western Edgefield county in South Carolina eastward in central Lexington county. Tennessee: A blaze in southern Monroe county in southeast Tennessee had a plume of moderate and thick smoke that extended to the east into Graham county North Carolina. Louisiana/Mississippi: Several small plumes were seen mainly over southern Mississippi and central and southern Louisiana. The plumes were mainly thin. The largest and most dense smoke was seen with a fire in Vermillion parish. The moderate density smoke was drifting to the east. Missouri/Oklahoma/Arkansas: Most of the smoke in this region was confined to the eastern third of Oklahoma, the southern third of Missouri and the northwest half of Arkansas. Clusters of fires in Pushmataha, Atoka and Pittsburgh counties in southeast Oklahoma were producing light to moderate density plumes that drifting to the northeast. Additional clusters of fires in Sequoyah and southern Cherokee counties had thin plumes extending to the northeast. Blazes in northeast McCurtain county Oklahoma and western Scott and Montgomery counties in Arkansas produced moderate to thick plumes of smoke that covered much of southwest Arkansas as they mainly moved to the east. A fire along the Newton/Johnson county border in northwest Arkansas produced a plume of moderate to thick smoke that moved to the east into Van Buren county. A fire in northeast Taney county Missouri had a plume of moderate to thick smoke that drifted and fanned out to the north into Douglas and Christian counties. Other plumes of smoke across southeast Missouri were mainly of thin density and were drifting to the north. A fire in northern Osage county in Oklahoma had a moderate to thin plume of smoke that fanned out into Chautauqua, Elk and Cowley counties in Kansas. Texas: The notable smoke in Texas was seen with fires in southern Walker and northern Houston counties. The smoke was moderate to dense and drifted to the north. Arizona: A fire in southeast Santa Cruz county produced a narrow plume of thin smoke that extended to the east into southwest Cochise county. Ruminski