DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1800Z February 19, 2011

Southeastern US:
A large area of mostly thin smoke stretched across the southeastern US
today from the eastern Florida panhandle and Apalachee Bay northeastward
across the state to east of the Carolinas. Another long thin finger of
smoke connected into this main area of smoke and stretched southwest
across Lake Okeechobee and southern Florida into the eastern Gulf of
Mexico near the Florida Keys. The majority of this remnant smoke is
believed to have come from the numerous agricultural and prescribed
burns that have been occurring over the southeast US the past few days;
especially in Georgia.

Gulf of Mexico:
Several areas of thin remnant smoke, which may be mixed with other
aerosols, are seen over the Gulf of Mexico today. The main area is moving
across the central Gulf of Mexico spreading westward with a small area
seen beneath clouds trailing behind. Given the atmospheric wind flow over
the Gulf the past day or so, this smoke appears to have have originated
from a combination of recent fires in the southeast US and Cuba. Remnant
smoke is also present along the southern Texas coast lifting northward
and probably originated from recent fires in Mexico.

Sheffler

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

Unless otherwise indicated:

Areas of smoke are analyzed using GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST Visible satellite imagery.

Only a general description of areas of smoke or significant smoke plumes will be analyzed.

A quantitative assessment of the density/amount of particulate or the vertical distribution is not included.

Widespread cloudiness may prevent the detection of smoke even from significant fires.