DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1730Z April 27, 2016
SMOKE: Bay of Campeche/Northwestern Gulf of Mexico/Southeast Texas/Arklatex/Northwest Arkansas/Western Missouri: An expansive area of thin to moderately dense smoke from the ongoing seasonal burning occurring in portions of Mexico and Central America is visible from the Bay of Campeche northward across the western and northern Gulf of Mexico. The smoke wrapped farther to the north inland over southern and southeastern Texas reaching as far north as western Missouri on the east side of an upper low. Some cloud cover over the Central Plains and Mississippi River Valley may have obscured observation of smoke. Southeastern Gulf of Mexico: A small patch of thin smoke could be seen moving northwest from western Cuba, likely from agricultural burning there yesterday. Southeast/Mid-Atlantic Coastline: An area of thin remnant smoke extends southwest to northeast along the coasts of North Carolina/South Carolina and off the coast of the Mid-Atlantic region. This smoke is a mixture from fires in Central America/Mexico and the Southeast US. Some dust may also be present on the northern fringe of the area of smoke along a stationary frontal boundary. DUST: Central and Southern Plains: Elevated dust could be seen this morning over portions of southeast Nebraska, Kansas, western Missouri, Oklahoma, western Arkansas, and Texas. The dust was progressing eastward with the movement of an upper level low over the Central Plains. Much of this dust originated from northern Mexico, southern New Mexico, and western Texas yesterday evening. The dust mixed with smoke along its eastern fringe. Southwest Canada: A barely discernible aerosol was present drifting slowly northward/northwestward across southern/southeast Alberta and west central Saskatchewan. The aerosol is believed to be elevated dust though remnant smoke from agricultural burns in southern Saskatchewan/southern Manitoba over the past two days may have mixed in along the southern periphery of the aerosol. 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