Tuesday, March 22, 2022

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1600Z March 22, 2022

SMOKE:
Mid-Atlantic Region/Atlantic Ocean East of Mid-Atlantic Coast…
A band of remnant thin density smoke was seen this morning stretching
from portions of the eastern Mid-Atlantic region eastward and off the
Mid-Atlantic Coast over the far western Atlantic Ocean. This smoke was
believed to be leftover from recent mainly seasonal type fire activity
occurring over the central, south central, east, and southeastern
U.S. which has pooled along west to east oriented frontal boundary. The
smoke may extend farther inland to the west but significant cloud cover
prevented detection of any smoke in satellite imagery which might be
present there.

Cuba/Caribbean…
Areas of thin density smoke from ongoing seasonal fire activity in central
and eastern Cuba were visible this morning moving to the west with some
of the smoke reaching the nearby Caribbean to the south of Cuba. Newly
developing moderate to even locally thick density smoke plumes were seen
spreading to the west with several fires over eastern Cuba.

SMOKE/AEROSOLS:
Central Gulf Coast Region/Gulf of Mexico/Bay of Campeche/Southern and
Eastern Mexico/Central America/Pacific Ocean Well South of Mexico…
A large mass of light to moderate density smoke mixed with aerosols
from oil and gas flaring and other industrial sources in Mexico was
visible this morning over southern and eastern Mexico, much of the Gulf
of Mexico, the Bay of Campeche, a portion of Central America, and the
Pacific Ocean extending well south of the coast of Mexico and Central
America. The smoke/aerosol mix also likely extended inland over the
central Gulf coast region and possibly even farther to the north but
widespread cloud cover prevented additional information on the extent
of the smoke in satellite imagery. The embedded moderate smoke/aerosol
mixture was visible mainly over the western Gulf of Mexico, the Bay of
Campeche, a portion of eastern and southern Mexico, and off the southern
coast of Mexico over the Pacific Ocean.

DUST:
Texas/Northeastern Mexico/Western Gulf of Mexico…
A broad area of generally thin density blowing dust attributed to
yesterday’s strong winds over northern Mexico and portions of the south
central and southwestern U.S. was seen this morning over a sizable part
of south central and eastern Texas, northern and northeastern Mexico,
and the western Gulf of Mexico where the dust eventually merged with
the smoke/aerosol mixture spreading northward from Mexico. The southern
portion of the dust was moving more to the east while the northern portion
over eastern and southeastern Texas and the northwestern Gulf of Mexico
was moving more to the northeast. Cloud cover farther to the east and
northeast over the U.S. prevented information in satellite imagery on
the extent of the dust.

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

 


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.