DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2345Z February 28, 2012
Southwestern US/Southern Plains/Northern Mexico: A developing potent and large storm system in the Central Plains is bringing very strong winds, in excess of 50mph in some areas, that have whipped up a broad area of significant blowing dust. The dust is being generated over multiple areas from northern Chihuahua, eastern New Mexico, western Texas and the Texas Panhandle, southeast Colorado, the Oklahoma Panhandle and western Kansas. This large mass of dust is moving to the east and northeast with the leading edge reaching southeast Nebraska, central Kansas, central Oklahoma and roughly a Wichita Falls/Abilene line by sunset. An area of light aerosol, believed to be long range trans Pacific dust based on the Navy Aerosol Analysis and Prediction System forecast, was seen over southern California, southern Arizona, northern Baja and Sonora and extending into adjacent areas of the Pacific. Cuba/Bahamas: Numerous fires on Cuba were producing modest smoke plumes that were mainly light density and moving to the west across the southeast Gulf of Mexico and northern Caribbean. A fire on Abaco Island in the northern Bahamas was generating a smoke plume that extended to the west and was moving toward West Palm Beach. New Jersey: Numerous fires over central New Jersey were generating light smoke plumes that were moving to the east and off the coast into the Atlantic. Ruminski THIS TEXT PRODUCT IS PRIMARILY INTENDED TO DESCRIBE SIGNIFICANT AREAS SMOKE ASSOCIATED WITH ACTIVE FIRES AND SMOKE WHICH HAS BECOME DETACHED FROM THE FIRES AND DRIFTED SOME DISTANCE AWAY FROM THE SOURCE FIRE..TYPICALLY OVER THE COURSE OF ONE OR MORE DAYS. AREAS OF BLOWING DUST ARE ALSO DESCRIBED. USERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO VIEW A GRAPHIC DEPICTION OF THESE AND OTHER PLUMES WHICH ARE LESS EXTENSIVE AND STILL ATTACHED TO THE SOURCE FIRE 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 ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS REGARDING THIS PRODUCT SHOULD BE SENT TO SSDFireTeam@noaa.gov