DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1645Z May 26, 2023
SMOKE: Canada/U.S./Atlantic Ocean... The extremely large area of smoke, attributed primarily to the large wildfires occurring mainly in central and northern Saskatchewan, northern Alberta, and the southwestern part of the Northwest Territories, continues to be visible this morning covering significant portions of Canada, the United States, and extending well off the east coast of the United States and eastern Canada and over a sizable portion of the Atlantic Ocean likely reaching Europe. Moderate to heavy density smoke was seen across the southern part of the Northwest Territories along with portions of Alberta, and the western and northern part of Manitoba. Significant cloud cover a bit farther to the east and southeast did interfere with smoke detection in satellite imagery though at least some moderate smoke was seen along the southern periphery of this cloud deck extending from southeastern Manitoba eastward to the far southern tip of Hudson Bay and southwestern Quebec. More moderate to thick density smoke could still be seen over some of the south central and southeastern U.S. and extending over the far northern Gulf of Mexico. It is also likely that some of the smoke from the fires in Mexico and Central America is mixing in with the smoke from the Canadian wildfires somewhere over the south central and southeastern U.S., and the northern Gulf of Mexico. SMOKE/AEROSOL: Southern U.S/Gulf of Mexico/Mexico/Central America/Pacific Ocean Extending well South of the Southern Coast of Mexico and Central America… The persistent and large area of thin to moderate density smoke, linked mainly to the ongoing widespread burning season along with a few wildfires in Mexico and northwestern Central America, was detected over most of Mexico, all of northwestern Central America, the Pacific Ocean well south and southwest off coast of Mexico, and the northern and central Gulf of Mexico. This smoke also extended northward towards the south central and southeastern U.S. where it is likely mixing with the smoke from the Canadian wildfires. Within this large mass of thin density smoke were areas of moderate to locally thick density smoke especially over southern and southwestern Mexico and northwestern Central America. While the majority of what was detected on satellite imagery was believed to be smoke, some aerosols from industrial activity mainly in Mexico and Central America may be mixing in. 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 map: https://www.ospo.noaa.gov/data/land/fire/currenthms.jpg Smoke data: https://satepsanone.nesdis.noaa.gov/pub/FIRE/web/HMS/Smoke_Polygons Fire data: https://satepsanone.nesdis.noaa.gov/pub/FIRE/web/HMS/Fire_Points ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS REGARDING THIS PRODUCT SHOULD BE SENT TO: SSDFireTeam@noaa.gov