DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1630Z January 13, 2023
SMOKE: Southeastern U.S./Atlantic Ocean off the Southeast U.S. Coast… A swath of remnant thin density smoke attributed to recent days of seasonal fire activity in the Southeastern U.S. was seen this morning extending from northern Florida over southern Georgia and the eastern Carolinas. SMOKE/AEROSOL: Cuba/Atlantic Ocean North of Cuba/Southern Florida/Caribbean Sea… Patches of thin density smoke linked to seasonal fire activity in Cuba and southern Florida was visible this morning over portions of Cuba, the Caribbean south of Cuba, southern Florida, and the Atlantic between Florida and Cuba and off the southeast coast of Florida. Aerosols from industrial activity mainly originating in Cuba were likely mixing with the smoke. SMOKE/AEROSOL/DUST: A combination of smoke from seasonal burning in Mexico, aerosols from industrial activity in Mexico and northwestern Central America, and dust kicked up by gusty northerly winds behind a frontal boundary over southeastern Mexico was present along and off the southern coast of Mexico and northwestern Central America and well out over the Pacific. Smoke of this smoke/aerosol/dust mixture appeared to be moderately thick to possibly thick in density over portions of the Pacific south of southern Mexico. Farther to the north, the mixture was more likely smoke from seasonal fire activity in Mexico and aerosols from industrial sources in Mexico with the thin density mixture present farther inland over southern and eastern Mexico, the Bay of Campeche, the far southern Gulf of Mexico, and a portion of the Caribbean Sea off the Yucatan Peninsula’s east coast. 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