DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0200Z May 23, 2017
SMOKE: Southern Canada / North Central U.S. Agricultural burns in southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba are collectively producing a region of thin density remnant smoke near their origin before stretching south over parts of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Gulf of Mexico/Southern Texas/Mexico/Central America... An area of light density remnant smoke, mixed with areas of moderate density smoke blankets the western Gulf of Mexico, including the Bay of Campeche. This smoke originated from numerous fires along the Sinaloa – Durango border as well as fires in the Yucatan Peninsula. From Earlier... South Florida: Fires burning in Hendry, Broward and Palm Beach counties of southern Florida are producing light to moderately dense smoke which was spreading northward this morning reaching close to the southwestern portion of Lake Okeechobee. DUST: A significant region of Saharan dust was observed spreading slowly to the west over the Windward and Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, and the eastern Caribbean. Ramirez/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