DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0215Z March 31, 2012
Central US: A tremendous number of seasonal fires were analyzed during the day centered over eastern Kansas. Numerous individual smaller smoke plumes were evident in satellite imagery earlier in the afternoon which eventually combined to form a larger mass of thin to moderately dense smoke which moved mainly in a northerly direction from eastern Kansas into far southeastern Nebraska. Additional fires with visible smoke plumes were observed from northern and eastern Oklahoma into western and central Arkansas. Smoke from these fires was also moving to the north and northeast. Gulf of Mexico/Southeastern Texas: A very large area of thin density smoke moved northward during the afternoon and early evening from the Yucatan Peninsula and southeastern Mexico/Central America across the Bay of Campeche and into the western Gulf of Mexico. The smoke nearly reached the coast of southeastern Louisiana just prior to sunset. A small patch of thin density smoke which likely separated from the larger area was visible along the southeastern Texas coast. The origin of all of this smoke was believed to be from the numerous seasonal fires burning especially over southeastern Mexico and Central America. Bahamas/Eastern Florida: A thin density smoke plume emanating from a fire burning in the western part of Grand Bahama Island spread in a westerly direction during the afternoon, nearly reaching the east coast of Florida by early in the evening. JS Earlier This Morning... Carolinas and Near Atlantic Ocean: Remnant smoke and haze can be seen converging along an old frontal boundary extending from SE NC Carolina out to around 30N67W and an convective trof that extends south from 33N75W to 30N76.5W. The thin to moderately dense smoke surrounds these boundaries about 150km to 200km wide on each side. Smoke is likely from the numerous agricultural burns that have been burning over the last week across the US Southeast. Gallina 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