DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1630Z February 5, 2023
SMOKE: Cuba/Southeastern Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean Sea/Yucatan Peninsula… A sizable batch of mainly thin density smoke linked to significant seasonal fire activity in Cuba was visible this morning over much of Cuba, the far southeastern part of the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of Cuba, a portion of the western Caribbean south and west of Cuba, and the Yucatan Peninsula. Southern Caribbean Sea… A mass of what is likely thin density smoke from seasonal fires in northern South America could be seen moving to the west and over the southern and southwestern part of the Caribbean Sea. UNKNOWN AEROSOL: Central U.S… An area of thin density aerosol of unknown origin and composition was visible this morning spreading to the east extending from the Central and Southern Plains eastward to the central Great Lakes region, Ohio Valley, and Middle and Lower Mississippi Valley regions. It is possible that some residual smoke from recent rounds of seasonal burning in the central and south central U.S. may be a component of this aerosol but that is not certain. SMOKE/AEROSOL/DUST: Southern Mexico/Northwestern Central America/Pacific Ocean South of Southern Mexico and Northwestern Central America… Similar to recent days, a very large mass of a mixture of primarily thin to moderate density smoke/industrial aerosol/dust was seen over southern Mexico, Northwestern Central America, and extending well off the southern coast of Mexico and Northwestern Central America over the Pacific Ocean. It is believed that the western and northwestern portion of this large area was likely mainly composed of smoke from ongoing seasonal fire activity in Mexico while the areas farther to the east off the southeastern coast of Mexico and northwestern Central America were composed primarily of aerosols from industrial activities in the region and blowing dust which was seen emanating and moving to the south especially from sources in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Oaxaca and the southern part of the Mexican state of Chiapas. Volcanic plumes which added to the aerosol mixture were noted spreading to the southwest and well offshore from at least a couple of volcanoes in Nicaragua and Guatemala, and from Popocatepetl near Mexico City. 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