DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0115Z March 22, 2008
Southeast US: A tremendous number of fires were seen stretching across Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida this afternoon and evening. Numerous smoke plumes were seen across the region and they were almost uniformly moving to the north, with the exception of those plumes over the northwest Florida peninsula which were moving to the west out over the Gulf of Mexico. Some of the larger plumes with moderately dense to locally dense smoke were emanating from fires in Calhoun and Cleburne counties and along the Bibb/Perry county border in Alabama, Charleston county in South Carolina, Franklin and Forrest counties in Mississippi Oklahoma/Kansas: A large number of fires were seen in Oklahoma/Kansas but most of these had little to no smoke observed with them. Two notable smoke plumes were seen drifting south from fires in Osage county Oklahoma (reaching to Pittsburgh county by sunset) and Butler county Kansas. Texas: Cloud were making smoke detection difficult with the fires over eastern Texas today. However, a couple of plumes were noted over Montgomery and Angelina counties and were moving to the north. Another plume from a fire over eastern Kenedy county was moving to the northeast out over the Gulf. Mexico: A fire continues to burn in northern Mexico near Monterrey. A plume of thin to moderate smoke was extending from the fire to the west=southwest. Arizona: A fire over southern Mohave county had a plume of moderately dense smoke extending to the east-southeast into Yavapai county. California: Several short puffs of smoke were seen with blazes just north of Sacramento. The smoke was drifting to the south. Hawaii: A large area of mainly vog was seen extending more than 500 km off the west coast of the Big Island. There is likely some smoke mixed in with the vog due to burning vegetation from the lava flows. Ruminski