DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0230Z May 1, 2020

SMOKE:

Central and North Central U.S./South Central Canada…
Seasonal fire activity was detected across the Central and North Central
U.S. and South Central Canada which resulted in scattered visible smoke
plumes of mainly thin density. The most numerous visible smoke plumes
were over the region stretching from eastern Kansas and northern Missouri
northward to southern Manitoba around Winnipeg.

Gulf of Mexico/Mexico/Central America/Pacific Ocean south of Mexico and
Central America…
The large area of mainly thin to moderate density visible smoke attributed
to the ongoing widespread seasonal fires burning in Mexico and Central
America was more suppressed than in recent days. The smoke was generally
confined to central and southern Mexico, Central America, the Bay of
Campeche, the western Caribbean, and off the southern coast of Mexico
and Central America. The thickest smoke in the region extended from
Honduras to Belize.

DUST:
Nevada/Idaho…
A swath of rather thick blowing dust originated from a source in west
central Nevada and moved to the northeast reaching northeastern Nevada
by sunset. Farther to the north, moderate density blowing dust from a
source in north central Nevada moved to the northeast fanning out across
south central and eastern Idaho nearly reaching Wyoming by sunset…...

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

Unless otherwise indicated:

Areas of smoke are analyzed using GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST Visible satellite imagery.

Only a general description of areas of smoke or significant smoke plumes will be analyzed.

A quantitative assessment of the density/amount of particulate or the vertical distribution is not included.

Widespread cloudiness may prevent the detection of smoke even from significant fires.