DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1645Z May 17, 2022
SMOKE: South Central and Southwestern U.S… The Bear Trap Fire in southwestern New Mexico increased significantly in size resulting in a sizable area of moderate to thick density smoke which extended to the east and fanned out across central and eastern New Mexico, Wildfire activity across New Mexico, southeastern Colorado, the northwestern Texas panhandle and north central Texas, western Oklahoma, and southwestern Kansas. At least some moderately dense smoke was seen this morning near and just east of the Hermits Peak Fire and Black Fires as well. Central and Eastern U.S/Gulf of Mexico/Atlantic off the U.S. East Coast… A large area of thin density smoke primarily attributed to the New Mexico wildfires was seen covering much of the central and eastern U.S. and extending off the U.S. east coast over the far western Atlantic. The smoke also was present over the Gulf Coast region and Gulf of Mexico where it likely mixed with smoke from the ongoing significant seasonal fire activity along with a few wildfires burning in Mexico and Central America. A couple of embedded moderately dense smoke patches likely from the New Mexico wildfires were visible across southeastern Nebraska, northeastern Kansas, and northwestern Missouri, and the eastern Gulf of Mexico. SMOKE/AEROSOL: U.S. Gulf Coast States/Mexico/Central America/Gulf of Mexico/Pacific South of Mexico and Central America... A large mass of mostly light to moderate density smoke from widespread onging seasonal fire activity and a few wildfires mixed with aerosols from oil/gas flaring and other industrial sources in Mexico was observed covering most of Mexico, parts of Central America, the Bay of Campeche, most of the Gulf of Mexico, and extending well offshore south of Mexico and Central America into the Pacific. The smoke/aerosol was believed to be present farther to the north up at least as far as the U.S. Gulf Coast region from Texas to Florida though it is likely mixed with smoke primarily from the New Mexico wildfires. The thicker areas of smoke embedded within the larger thin density area were mainly located over eastern and southern Mexico, northwestern Central America, and extending to the south of the southern coast of Mexico and Central America over the Pacific. BLOWING DUST: Tropical Atlantic/Eastern Caribbean… The western end of a significant area of Saharan dust had spread a little farther to the west and over the eastern Caribbean just east of the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. 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