DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0300Z May 26, 2017
SMOKE: Mexico/Gulf of Mexico/South Florida... Numerous fires more concentrated in western Mexico and across southeastern Mexico including the Yucatan Peninsula were responsible for a large mass of thin to moderately dense smoke which covered a good portion of Mexico, the Bay of Campeche, the western and southern Gulf of Mexico, and far southern Florida. The smoke may have extended farther to the east though it is difficult to differentiate between smoke and Saharan dust which was also present over Cuba, the Bahamas, and off the southeastern US coast. DUST: Western Atlantic/Puerto Rico/Caribbean/Cuba/Bahamas... A significant area of Saharan dust continued to affect the region including Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and Cuba with the dust also now spreading to the north across the Bahamas and well off the Southeastern and Eastern US coast. Southwestern US... Blowing dust was visible spreading to the east and northeast from a number of source regions of southern California in the vicinity of the Salton Sea. The dust extended to and across the California-Arizona border. A bit farther to the north, more blowing dust could be seen originating from the desert region of southern California and moving to the east and northeast into southern Nevada. Cloudiness over southern Nevada and southern Utah limited information on any blowing dust which may be present in that region. JS Earlier This Morning... Southwestern US... A broken plume of light density smoke is noted over Arizona and New Mexico from fires burning in the southwestern US. -Gaetano 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