DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0330Z December 8, 2017
SMOKE: Southern California... Thick smoke continues to spread to the west and southwest and well out over the Pacific from the ongoing wildfires burning in Ventura County of southern California. The smoke then thins out but also fans out as it continues to move off the coast with some of the thinner density smoke appearing to re-curve back inland a bit farther up the coast over central California. Additional fires broke out over western Riverside and northwestern San Diego counties of far southern California as well as over the border in northwestern Baja with smoke plumes of varying density rapidly spreading to the west and southwest and offshore. DUST: Southern California/Western and Southern Arizona/Northern Baja... In addition to the smoke from wildfire activity, satellite imagery also appeared to show some streaks of mainly thinner density blowing dust emanating from sources in southern California and northern Baja and quickly spreading to the west and southwest and offshore mixing with the smoke in spots. An area of thin density blowing dust was visible moving southward over southern Arizona and across northwestern Mexico with the dust appearing to become thicker as it spread out over the Gulf of California. A narrow swath of blowing dust was also noted moving to the south-southwest from a point source near the Mohave-Yavapai border in west central Arizona. 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