DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1700Z March 6, 2022
SMOKE: Southeastern U.S… A large fire located in the Florida panhandle to the northeast of Panama City near the Tenmile Swamp and Green Bay Swamp was producing moderately dense to locally thick smoke which spread generally to the north and west this morning while gradually fanning out and thinning out. Thinner density smoke from this fire reached as far north as east central Alabama and west central Georgia. Southeastern U.S./Mid-Atlantic Region/Northeastern U.S… Widespread cloud cover was present from the western Gulf Coast region to the southern and central Appalachians, the Middle Atlantic region, and much of the Northeast which greatly limited information on smoke coverage in satellite imagery. Smoke may be present in these areas due to the recent significant and widespread mainly seasonal type fire activity occurring in the south central and southeastern U.S. Some leftover very thin density smoke from fires in the Southeast was seen this morning extending from the eastern Florida panhandle to the north over southern and eastern Georgia, much of South Carolina, and the southern part of North Carolina before the northern edge of the smoke became obscured by cloud cover. SMOKE/AEROSOL: Southeastern Texas and Southern Louisiana/Bay of Campeche/Gulf of Mexico/Central, Southern, and Eastern Mexico/Northwestern Central America/Pacific Ocean South of Mexico and Central America... The usual combination of light to moderate density smoke from seasonal fires in Mexico and Central America along with other atmospheric pollutants including aerosols from oil and gas flaring and other industries in the region was visible this morning across portions of central, southern, and eastern Mexico, the western half of the Gulf of Mexico, most of the Bay of Campeche, northwestern Central America, and extending well off the southern coast of Mexico and northwestern Central America over the Pacific Ocean. The smoke/aerosol combination also spread northward at least as far north as portions of southeastern Texas and southern Louisiana though cloud cover thickened farther to the north and northeast over the U.S. which prevented additional information on the extent of the smoke/aerosol in satellite imagery. Moderately dense areas of smoke/aerosol were seen this morning over portions of eastern and southeastern Mexico, the far western Gulf of Mexico off the eastern Mexican coast, the southwestern part of the Bay of Campeche, and along and off the southern coast of Mexico and Guatemala. BLOWING DUST: New Mexico/Far Western Texas/Northern Mexico… A relatively narrow stripe of apparent leftover thin density blowing dust was seen this morning moving to the east and southeast over east central New Mexico and extending to the southwest from there over south central New Mexico and across far western Texas around El Paso to the northern part of the Mexican state of Chihuahua in north central Mexico. Any remnant blowing dust which might be present in areas farther to the east over the south central U.S. could not be seen due to cloud cover. 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