DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0045Z OCTOBER 11, 2008
Smoke: Texas: A fire near the coast in Jefferson county, TX produced thin smoke that fanned out west and NNW covering much of the county and NE Chambers county. A fire in W Aransas county, TX produced a puff of thin smoke that is about 30km long and 10 wide and moved NW. It was last seen over SW Wilson county. A fire in far W Wharton county very near the S peninsula of Colorado county was producing a plume of thin to moderately dense smoke that extended NW covering a 7km wide area over far E and NE Lavaca county. A bright fire along the S Austin and E Colorado county line produced a very strong puff of smoke that was moderately dense but as it has fanned out has thinned quite substantially. The puff expanded NW through E... with the lowest levels moving along the river on the county line. The more dense area began to move due E with an arch connecting them but expanding outward covering much of Austin, all of Waller and far W Harris county. Arizona: A fire in the Sierra Ancha Mtns of central Gila county near the town of Young is producing a 300km long plume of thin to moderate smoke that extends to the NE near the NM/AZ line in the Chuska Mtns. The plume is on average about 10km wide along its length. Dust/Sand: California/Nevada: Strong N and NNWly flow from cold air surging along the NV/CA state line has lead to a kicking up of sand and salt into a moderately dense sand storm from all deserts across Inyo, CA and Esmeralda, NV counties...covering nearly all the area of those counties. The most dense storm is from sand/salt from Owens Lake. A milky appearance across the Southern San Joaquin Valley of California is indicative of sand and soil being blown southward across Kern, Kings and S Tulare county. It is not particularly dense compared to the sand storm over Inyo county. A thin to moderately dense sand storm can be seen blowing eastward across the Salton Sea and agricultural fields south of it from sand/dust from the Anza-Borrego Desert to the west. The sand covers nearly all of Imperial county to the AZ boarder. Arizona: A 15km wide plume of thin sand/dust from a source in the Santa Rosa Valley in SW Maricopa county is moving NE under strong winds and extend nearly into the SW suburbs of Phoenix (near the Sierra Estrella Mtns). Gallina