DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0200Z APRIL 25, 2008
Western US: A large mass of what is believed to be mainly smoke was visible covering a significant portion of the western US as well as western and central Canada and the far eastern Pacific. The majority of the smoke most likely originated from large fires which have been burning in Russia with a possible smaller contribution to this area from blowing dust/sand which originated in portions of Asia and was transported across the Pacific into the Western US by upper level winds. Within this large mass of thin smoke was a moderately dense curved swath of smoke which extended from British Columbia and Alberta Provinces of southwestern Canada southward to Nevada and Utah, then eastward across the 4 corners region, and northeastward over much of Colorado. Arizona: An ongoing fire in northern Greenlee County of east central Arizona was emitting a moderately dense smoke plume which spread northeastward into western New Mexico. Texas/Gulf of Mexico/northeastern Mexico: A large area of thin smoke with embedded patches of moderately dense smoke originating from seasonal fires burning across southeastern Mexico and Central America covered the Bay of Campeche, the western Gulf of Mexico, eastern Mexico, and southern Texas. The smoke appeared to be moving farther to the north during the day. Farther to the west, a ribbon of blowing dust was visible late in the day moving to the northeast from a source region just north of Midland in western Texas. Also, a fire in north central Mexico was producing a very long plume of smoke which reached Presidio County of extreme southwestern Texas. Northeastern US/Middle Atlantic Region: More smoke from the Russian fires was observed moving to the southeast from extreme southeastern Canada across the eastern half of Maine and out over the north Atlantic. To the south of this region, more possible thin leftover smoke from the Russian fires was visible along and just off the Middle Atlantic and Long Island NY coast. Florida: A fire in central Brevard County of eastern Florida was responsible for a long thin to moderately dense smoke plume which moved to the west across the entire state and off the west coast of Florida just south of Tampa. Tennessee: A fire in Blount County of southeastern Tennessee produced a moderately dense to even locally dense smoke plume which spread in a northerly direction toward the TN-KY-VA border. JS