DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0200Z March 31, 2020
SMOKE:
Central U.S…
A significant amount of seasonal fire activity was detected over eastern
Kansas, southeastern Nebraska, Iowa, northern Missouri, and central
Illinois. Numerous smoke plumes of mainly thin density were also visible
with some of these fires though cloudiness spread over portions of this
region during the afternoon which limited smoke detection in satellite
imagery to some extent.
Southeastern U.S…
Scattered fires producing visible smoke were noted especially over
southern Florida, the Florida panhandle, southern Georgia, and eastern
South Carolina. The most significant smoke was located in the Florida
panhandle and southwestern Georgia where areas of thin to moderate
density smoke were seen.
Mexico/Central America/Cuba/Gulf of Mexico…
Widespread seasonal fire activity was present over southern and
southeastern Mexico, Central America, and Cuba. Smoke plumes and larger
patches of smoke were prevalent over Central America and southern and
southeastern Mexico. A broad area of thin density smoke attributed
primarily to fires in the Yucatan Peninsula was seen spreading to the
northwest and out over the Bay of Campeche and the southwestern Gulf of
Mexico. Farther to the east, numerous fires across Cuba resulted in a
sizable area of smoke affecting the island and the nearby offshore areas.
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/data/land/fire/currenthms.jpg
GIS: ftp://satpsanone.nesdis.noaa.gov/FIRE/HMS/GIS/
KML: http://www.ospo.noaa.gov/data/land/fire/fire.kml (fire)
http://www.ospo.noaa.gov/data/land/fire/smoke.kml (smoke)
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS REGARDING THIS PRODUCT SHOULD BE SENT TO:
SSDFireTeam@noaa.gov