DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0200Z April 9, 2015
DUST New Mexico: Three areas of blowing dust/sand were observed in New Mexico this afternoon/evening in GOES-13 imagery . Moderate density blowing sand composed primarily of Gypsum was seen moving northeast from the White Sands National Monument in south-central New Mexico as winds increased to 20-25 knots today. A smaller area of light density blowing dust/sand from sand dunes in central Torrance county New Mexico could be seen moving to the northeast. A large area of light density dust sourced from San Juan and McKinley county in northwestern portions of New Mexico was seen moving to the northeast. Colorado: An area of light density blowing dust was seen in southern Colorado this afternoon/evening. This dust is tracking to the northeast and currently located in northeast Colorado. US West Coast: An area of elevated dust can be seen stretching across the whole west coast of the US and into the US southwest. The dust originated from Asia but it is difficult to locate the extent and boundary of the dust because it is increasing becoming diffuse. SMOKE Gulf of Mexico: Although upper-level cirrus clouds partially obscure the western Gulf of Mexico in GOES-13 imagery, a large area of thin density smoke can still be seen moving to the northwest. The smoke originated from many agricultural fires in the Yucatan Peninsula and active oil rigs in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico. -Cronin 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