Tuesday, May 17, 2022

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0054Z May 18, 2022

SMOKE:
South Central and Southwestern U.S…
The Bear Trap, Hermits Peak and Black Fires in New Mexico where
responsible for a sizable area of moderate to thick density smoke
which extended to the east and fanned out across the central and eastern
US. This smoke contains contributions from Wildfire activity and seasonal
burning in the region.

Central and Eastern U.S/Gulf of Mexico/Atlantic off the U.S. East Coast…
A large area of thin density smoke with a large portion of moderate
density smoke 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. Heavy density smoke from
earlier today was observed over southeastern Kansas, eastern Oklahoma,
southwestern Missouri and western Arkansas.

Oregon...
Possible seasonal burning activity in central Oregon was producing two
light to moderate density smoke plumbs that were moving to the northeast
in direction as evening approached.

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
ongoing 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 south of Cuba.

Eglin


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.