DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0045Z February 3, 2011
Only a few smoke plumes were visible in satellite imagery during the day across the US. The spots where smoke was detected were over southern Florida, western Oregon, and northern California. Elsewhere, a small patch of blowing dust was seen moving to the south-southeast from a dry lake bed in central Esmeralda County of southwestern Nevada. Much more significant blowing dust was observed moving to the south and southwest from numerous point sources across Baja California, Baja California Sur, and the Mexican state of Sonora in western Mexico. The dust was easily detected in visible satellite imagery as it moved over the Pacific and the Gulf of California. The area of dust being kicked up in western Sonora was particularly thick. Another streak of blowing dust was seen moving to the south from a source in the northern portion of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. An aerosol of very thin density but unknown origin and composition was visible in satellite imagery just prior to sunset off the coast of central California and inland over the San Joaquin Valley. JS 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