DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0015Z May 9, 2022
SMOKE: New Mexico... All four main wildfires burning in central New Mexico (Bear Trap,Cerro Pelado, Hermits Peak, and Calf Canyon) were actively burning during the afternoon hours. Heavy smoke could be seen emitting from Calf Canyon and Hermits fires, while light-to-moderate smoke was observed emitting from Cerro Pelado and Bear Trap fires. All plumes were dispersing toward the northeast extending over southeastern Colorado, northwestern Oklahoma and southwestern-central Kansas. Southern Plains/Lower Mississippi/Gulf of Mexico/Central-Southern Mexico/Northern Central America/Pacific Ocean... A very large plume consisting of light-density smoke predominantly linked to widespread seasonal fires across Mexico and Central America could be seen covering central-eastern Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, the entire Gulf of Mexico, the majority of Mexico (with the exception of the northwestern states and Baja California), and the northern Central America. The plume extends further westward for almost 1,000 miles over the Pacific ocean off the coast of southern Mexico. An area of moderate density smoke covered the southwestern-western Gulf of Mexico and central Mexico. The bulk of the smoke remains stagnant across the region. DUST: Southwestern U.S./Northern Mexico... Blowing dust of moderate concentration could be observed forming off a wide area extending from southeastern California (Inyo, San Bernardino, Riverside and Imperial counties), northern Arizona (Mohave, Coconino, Navajo, Apache counties), northern New Mexico (McKinley, San Juan, Sandoval, and Rio Arriba counties), and southeastern Utah (San Juan county). The dust was particularly thick across San Juan county in New Mexico. Strong winds were carrying the dust toward the northeast, impacting further areas in southern Nevada, Utah and Colorado. Another area of lighter blowing dust was seen over the northern Chihuahua state in northern Mexico, with the dust also dispersing toward the northeast and into western Texas. WS 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