DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0300Z March 8, 2021
SMOKE: Central/South Central/Southeastern U.S… A tremendous amount of seasonal fire activity was detected encompassing a broad portion of the Central, South Central, and Southeastern U.S. with the most concentrated fire activity in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and along the immediate Gulf Coast region. Another concentrated area of seasonal burning was present in the eastern half of Oklahoma, eastern Kansas, Missouri, southeastern Nebraska, southern Iowa, Illinois, and northern Arkansas. Significant smoke coverage was visible over much of these areas as well with the bulk of it in the form of thinner density smoke though locally thicker smoke plumes were embedded in the region as well. The smoke over the Central U.S. was generally rotating clockwise and much of the smoke in the Southeast and along the Gulf Coast was moving to the south and southeast, and even to the southwest and WNW along the Texas coast. Gulf of Mexico/Mexico/Pacific South of Mexico… A rather large area of primarily thin density smoke attributed to the seasonal fire activity in Mexico and Central America was seen over the southern Gulf of Mexico, the Bay of Campeche, southern and southeastern Mexico, portions of Central America, and off the coast of southern Mexico over the Pacific. DUST: Pacific Northwest…. An area of dust from portions of Asia was seen pushing into portions of the Pacific northwest of Oregon and northern California. YL 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