DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0330Z April 13, 2017
SMOKE: North Central US... A large patch of leftover thin density smoke was seen over portions of South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Iowa. The smoke may extend farther to the east and northeast, but significant cloudiness in that area is hindering smoke detection from satellite imagery. This leftover smoke is mainly from yesterday's tremendous amount of seasonal burning occurring over the Flint Hills region of eastern Kansas. The batch of smoke lifted to the north and northeast overnight and became entrained into the circulation around a low pressure system. On the back edge of the low pressure system, some clearing this evening allowed for viewing of the smoke which now appears to be spreading back to the south in the wake of the low pressure. Kansas... More fire activity in and around the Flint Hills region of eastern Kansas resulted in more smoke which appeared to move northward during the day though cloudiness in the area limited additional information on smoke extent and density from satellite imagery. Gulf of Mexico/Bay of Campeche... An area of thin to moderately dense smoke attributed to the ongoing seasonal burning occurring in portions of Mexico and Central America was seen over the Bay of Campeche extending northward over the south central and western Gulf of Mexico. Farther to the east, a swath of thin density smoke drifted westward over the eastern to central Gulf of Mexico which is believed to be from some of the recent fire activity over Florida, the Bahamas, and Cuba. DUST: Arizona/Utah/Wyoming/Colorado/New Mexico... A swath of thin density aerosol was noted stretching from Arizona and western New Mexico northward to southwestern Wyoming. Aerosol models are indicating this is likely composed at least in part by dust though the source is not clear. Nevada... A few streaks of moderate to locally thick blowing dust were visible moving to the northeast from a few sources in west central Nevada this afternoon and early evening. JS 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