DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0215Z March 31, 2014
Southwestern US/Northwest Mexico: A large amount of blowing dust could be seen in GOES imagery this evening over northwest Mexico, southern California, Arizona, northwest New Mexico, southeast Utah, and southwest Colorado before the dust disappeared beneath clouds along the Continental Divide. A strong frontal boundary moving through the Southwest with gusty winds was the cause of the blowing dust. Western Gulf of Mexico: An area of unknown aerosol was seen over the western Gulf of Mexico, northeast Mexico, and far southern Texas. Additionally, a large amount of smoke from Mexican and Central American fires could be seen moving westward across Mexico and the eastern Pacific. Some of the aerosol seen over the western Gulf and far southern Texas could be remnant smoke from the Mexican fires as well. 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.ospo.noaa.gov/Products/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