By KAREN NELSON
Biloxi Sun Herald (Mississippi)
The acrid-smelling haze along the Coast on Wednesday came from a giant fire on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, according to meteorologists.
Weather conditions caused the smoke from the large fire to drift all the way across the Gulf, about 750 miles, to the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, according to the National Weather Service in Slidell, La.
The fire was large enough to show up as a plume on satellite imagery, said Butch Loper, Jackson County Civil Defense director.
The haze puzzled residents, who called fire and police departments. It smelled like smoke from a fire (as opposed to a chemical discharge) and looked like smoke, but standing on the seawall in Pascagoula, it was obviously coming from the south, where there is nothing but water as far as the eye can see.
The National Weather Service in Mobile said that city was also experiencing the haze and smell.
Loper said a weather front moving in from the north created a low ceiling of clouds that forced the smoke toward the ground instead of allowing it to dissipate into the atmosphere.
As the cold front predicted for Wednesday night moves in, he said it was expected to lift the ceiling, allowing the haze to disappear.