DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1615Z February 20, 2014
Southeast US: A small patch of remnant thin smoke was barely visible off the coast of the Carolinas along a frontal boundary. Some of this smoke is from yesterday's smoke-producing fires in Georgia/Florida while some may be smoke from fires 2-3 days ago in those states. Gulf of Mexico: An thin unknown aerosol could again be seen over the western and northeastern Gulf of Mexico. The aerosol generally seemed to be drifting northward. Southern Plains: An expansive area of blowing dust could be seen moving south and southeast across the Texas Panhandle and northwest Texas, southwest to northeast Oklahoma, southeast Kansas, and far southwest Missouri. Very strong surface winds with speeds of 30-40mph and stronger gusts are prevalent across much of the region today as an upper level low swings northeastward across Kansas. These strong winds are the cause for the large blowing dust event. Sheffler THIS TEXT PRODUCT IS PRIMARILY INTENDED TO DESCRIBE SIGNIFICANT AREAS OF 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