DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1630Z April 17, 2022
SMOKE: North Central U.S… A patch of possible leftover thin density smoke was seen this morning stretching from central Minnesota and western Wisconsin to the southeast over eastern Iowa, northern Illinois, and western Indiana. This possible leftover smoke was very thin and was appearing on the eastern fringe of eastward advancing widespread cloud cover. More possible thin density smoke may be present farther to the west and southwest over the central U.S. but could not be seen in satellite imagery due to the cloudiness. The remnant smoke is likely due to ongoing seasonal/agricultural fire activity primarily in the central U.S. Central and South Central U.S… A broad area of remnant thin density smoke was visible, along and west of the aforementioned significant cloud cover, across the Central Plains and high plains to the east of the front range of the Rockies from western and central South Dakota southward to eastern New Mexico and over much of Texas. The smoke was believed to be mainly from ongoing daily seasonal fire activity in the central U.S. which was pushed farther to the west toward the front range of the Rockies by recent wind patterns which have shifted again and the smoke is now spreading back to the east and southeast. Some of the smoke farther to the south especially in New Mexico and western Texas may be linked to the Hermits Peak Fire in north central New Mexico. Also, some of the smoke in the portion of the area farther to the south may be composed in part of smoke which has moved to the north from widespread ongoing seasonal fire activity in Mexico. SMOKE/AEROSOL: U.S. Gulf Coast Region/Gulf of Mexico/Southern and Eastern Mexico/Central America/Bay of Campeche/Pacific Ocean South of Mexico and Central America… A large mass of primarily light to moderate density smoke from ongoing widespread significant seasonal fire activity in Mexico and Central America mixed with aerosols from oil and gas flaring and other industrial sources in Mexico was observed covering portions of southern and eastern Mexico and Central America and extending to the north and northeast over the Bay of Campeche, most of the Gulf of Mexico, and inland over the U.S. Gulf Coast from southern and southeastern Texas to southern South Carolina, southern Georgia, and roughly the northern half of Florida. Cloud cover farther inland over the south central and southeastern U.S. limited additional information on the northward extent of the smoke/aerosol through satellite imagery. The smoke/aerosol also extended well south of the southern coast of Mexico and Central America over the Pacific. The embedded moderately dense smoke/aerosol mix was present primarily over southern and eastern Mexico, the far western Gulf of Mexico and Bay of Campeche, portions of Central America, and off the southern coast of Mexico and Central America over the Pacific. A stripe of embedded thicker density smoke was seen over eastern Mexico and offshore over the far western part of the Bay of Campeche. 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