May 1, 2008
Hazy East, Midwest; some clouds and major fires in the South
Skies are very hazy over the Great Lakes region and parts of the East Coast. This is likely the same aerosol load Ana discussed yesterday, which has progressed today (in addition see today's HMS map below) . Also, note the hazy conditions over the Pacific near California. Possible long-range sources include Hawaii, Russia, and Asia. PM2.5 levels (EPA AIRNow) were primarily moderate in California and the Eastern half of the country.
left: Terra MODIS (~AM)
right: AQUA MODIS (~PM)
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*both images were sourced from UW MODIS Today
There are major fires in Texas and New Mexico (refer to the MODIS true color image- left image; source). I’m providing an image, mapped in Google Earth, from the MODIS Active Fire Mapping Program (source). The two largest fires seen in Torrance county, New Mexico (Trigo- # 7) and Pecos county, Texas (Huckabee- #10) have collectively consumed almost 29,000 acres (right image). The cause for both events is currently unknown. I’m also including today’s HMS map, which gives us a better understanding of fire location and smoke distribution (bottom image).
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**Here is the KMZ file provided by USDA Forest Service
Haze is also present over the Gulf region. Some of this haze may be smoke from fires in Mexico and Central America. The animated GASP AOD loop (left image) is shown below along with the MODIS AOD map (right image). AOD is elevated where smoke/haze was identified.
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