DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0015Z January 29, 2008
Sand storm: Kansas A large sand/dust storm has developed over western and central KS under influence from the passing strong cyclone and higher westerly sfc winds behind it. Generally the area is separated into two areas from 2 or 3 source regions and both areas are moving just ENE. The northern source region started around E Kiowa county in CO, and quickly moved into Greeley and Wichita counties. As the sun is setting, the back edge extends between E Ness and SE Trego counties and covered Ellis, SE Rooks, Osbourne, N Russell, Mitchell, S Jewell, and NW Cloud counties. The southern source region was in NE Baca county CO, Stanton county KS, and eventually northern portions of Texas/Beaver counties in OK and Southern portions of Stevens and Seward in KS. Only Baca and Stanton counties have ceased as of sunset but the others as well as Grant, Haskell, S Finney (and far E too), Gray, Meade, Hodgeman, Ford, Edwards, Pawnee, S Rush, and NW Barton were affected by the sand. The most dense area (which was moderate to dense) was centered from Johnson City to Ulysses to Cimarron to Jetmore to Sanford. Smoke: New Jersey: A few fires were burning across central NJ today produced thin smoke that has developed into a 110km long plume and extends SE from the Atlantic/Camden county line. The plume is on average about 28km wide Virgina/North Carolina: A fire near Angelico/Worrell in Southampton county is producing a 10km wide plume of thin smoke that extends ESE barely into northern Hertford county,NC. S South Carolina/SE Georgia: A triangle from Charleston, SC to Sardis, GA to Hinesville, GA had multiple small fires that produced thin to moderate smoke that wafted toward the ENE very slowly (which is why the density was a bit higher) not covering much but a 5x10 km area or 5x20km line around their sources. The fires to the north and west of Charleston, SC had smoke move directly over town by sunset. Western and SW Georgia: A few small fires in the Flint River area produced very thin smoke that barely drifted Neward. A fire on the western portions of MT. Benning (E of Cusseta) produced a thin smoke plume that moved due north in a line that extended to Waverly Hall in S Harris county. The plume was about 10km wide. Central and Southern Florida: A fire south of Deer Park, FL along the county line produced a plume of thin to moderate smoke that moved SSW across southern Osceola county to the Polk/Okeechobee county line. A fire along the Glades/Highland county line near Brighton produced a moderately dense plume of smoke that moved SSW across US-27 to the Glades/Hendry county line near Port La Belle, FL A small fire near or along SR-70 in SW Highlands county was thin in density and also moved SSW covering about a 10km wide line that extended across SE DeSoto county to NE Charlotte county. A moderately dense fan of smoke from a fire in central Charlotte county moved SSW across N Ft. Myers area and across the Charlotte Harbor and N Sanibel island. Florida Panhandle: A thin plume of smoke can be seen emitted from a fire in the northern portions of the Lower Suwannee Nat'l Wildlife Refuge...along the River itself. The plume moved SW over the town of Suwanee and extended about an additional 5-10km out into the Gulf. The plume is about 5km wide. Multiple fires across Gulf/S Liberty/Franklin and along the Liberty/Wakulla county line have produced smoke that has very limited motion (maybe a slight drift E). The smoke is moderate in density due to the lack of winds. Gallina