DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2245Z November 28, 2010
Sunday evening was very busy for dust/blowing sand observations in the United States. Strong winds in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico have allowed for dust/sand plumes to form, often carrying the plumes great distances. Chihuahua, Mexico Numerous dust/sand plumes were observed in this evening's imagery. The plumes originated in northern Chihuahua around 1815Z and moved to the northeast. By 2015Z, some plumes originating in Mexico crossed the Mexico/US border in western Texas. Sonora, Mexico Several dust/sand plumes were viewed in the imagery this evening. By 2145Z, the plumes, which formed in northeastern Sonora, were approaching the Mexico/US border. Given the intensity of the plumes and the winds, it is assumed that these plumes crossed into the United States after sunset. Texas An area of blowing sand/dust was observed originating southwest of Littlefield, TX this evening. This northeast moving plume approached the Amarillo and the I-40 corridor by sunset. New Mexico Several sand/dust plumes were viewed this evening. A plume originating in central Hildago County crossed into Mexico and re-entered New Mexico in Luna and Dona Ana Counties. A plume starting in White Sands crossed the Sacramento Mountains and approached Roswell. Also, another plume originated east of Roswell and another began in Roosevelt County around 1845Z. All of these plumes generally moved to the northeast, with some dust/sand crossing into Texas. Arizona A dust/sand plume formed this evening south of Wilcox, AZ around 1945Z. This plume moved to the northeast. Kansas An area of light blowing sand/dust was observed from around 2130Z through sunset over southwest Kansas, originating between Liberal and Garden City, and quickly spreading to the northeast on strong, gusty winds up to 40 mph. Gulf of Mexico An area of light aerosol, likely smoke, was seen off the western tip of Cuba. Smoke would be associated with agricultural burning observed on Cuba in the evening. An area of smoke, locally moderately dense, was associated with the oil rigs in the Bay of Campeche in the southwest Gulf of Mexico. This smoke area was moving north and will likely accelerate northward across the western Gulf overnight and during the day on Monday in response to a strong storm system that will be moving into the Plains states. Myrga/Ruminski THE FORMAT OF THIS TEXT PRODUCT IS BEING MODIFIED. IT WILL NO LONGER DESCRIBE THE VARIOUS PLUMES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH ACTIVE FIRES. THESE PLUMES ARE DEPICTED IN VARIOUS GRAPHIC FORMATS ON OUR WEB SITE: JPEG: http://www.osdpd.noaa.gov/ml/land/hms.html GIS: http://www.firedetect.noaa.gov/viewer.htm KML: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/FIRE/kml.html THIS TEXT PRODUCT WILL CONTINUE TO DESCRIBE SIGNIFICANT AREAS OF SMOKE WHICH HAVE BECOME DETACHED FROM AND DRIFTED SOME DISTANCE AWAY FROM THE SOURCE FIRE, TYPICALLY OVER THE COURSE OF ONE OR MORE DAYS. IT WILL ALSO STILL INCLUDE DESCRIPTIONS OF BLOWING DUST. THE SMOKE TEXT PRODUCT IN GENERAL SHOULD BE SENT TO SSDFireTeam@noaa.gov ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS REGARDING THESE CHANGES OR THE SMOKE TEXT PRODUCT IN GENERAL SHOULD BE SENT TO SSDFireTeam@noaa.gov