DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1600Z March 16, 2022
SMOKE: Cuba… At least a couple of batches of leftover thin density smoke from significant seasonal fire activity in Cuba were present this morning over portions of Cuba and extending to the south over a small part of the Caribbean and to the north reaching just south of the Florida Keys. SMOKE/DUST: Area from South Central U.S. Extending to the Great Lakes Region, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast… Leftover mainly thin density smoke was visible this morning extending from portions of Texas and Louisiana northward to the Central Plains and from there to the northeast and east across the Great Lakes region to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region. Embedded smaller patches of remnant moderate density smoke were noted moving to the north from south central Oklahoma over north central Oklahoma and into south central and southeastern Kansas. Much of this smoke was due to recent significant rounds of seasonal fire activity occurring over the central and south central U.S. though some contribution from seasonal fire activity in Mexico may also be occurring particularly with the southern portion of this large area of smoke. In addition, it is possible that some leftover blowing dust kicked up yesterday over the South Central and Southwestern U.S. may be present within the large smoke area along with even some possible long range dust transport aloft from Asia. Widespread cloud cover across much of the southeastern U.S. and southern Mid-Atlantic region prevented satellite detection in of any aerosols which might be present in this region. SMOKE/AEROSOL: Florida/Gulf of Mexico/Bay of Campeche/Southern and Eastern Mexico/Central America/Pacific Ocean Well South of Mexico and Central America… A large area of thin to moderate density smoke mixed with aerosols from oil and gas flaring and other industrial sources in Mexico and Central America was seen over much of eastern, central and southern Mexico and a portion of Central America and extending well to the south of the southern coast of Mexico and Central America over the Pacific Ocean. More mainly thin density remnant smoke/aerosol was visible across most of the Bay of Campeche, the Gulf of Mexico, and likely extending into Florida as well though cloud cover inland over the southeastern U.S. limited additional information on the extent of the smoke in satellite imagery in that area. Moderate density areas of smoke/aerosol were seen over a portion of eastern Mexico and offshore over the northwestern Bay of Campeche as well as along and off the coast of southern Mexico over the Pacific Ocean. 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