DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1630Z February 11, 2023
SMOKE: Cuba/Caribbean Sea/Eastern Gulf of Mexico/Florida… An area of thin density smoke from continuing widespread daily fire activity in Cuba was seen stretching from Cuba to the east across a portion of the Caribbean Sea south of Cuba. From there, the smoke spread to the north over the eastern Gulf of Mexico and then to the northeast over central and southern Florida. Several thicker localized smoke plumes were noted emanating from some of the fires especially in western Cuba. SMOKE/AEROSOL/DUST: Gulf of Mexico/Eastern and Southern Mexico/Northwestern Central America/Pacific Ocean south of Southern Mexico and Northwestern Central America… The large mass of primarily thin density smoke from seasonal fire activity mainly in Mexico and northern Central America mixed with aerosols from industrial sources also in Mexico and northern Central America was visible this morning over eastern and southern Mexico, northwestern Central America, the Pacific extending well south of Mexico and northwestern Central America, and a portion of the western and central Gulf of Mexico. The smoke/aerosol mixture was moderately dense in spots along and off the southeastern coast of Mexico and Guatemala over the Pacific. Blowing dust spreading to the south from locations near the coast of far southeastern Mexico and southern Guatemala was also contributing to the mixture over the Pacific. UNKNOWN AEROSOL: Area from the South Central U.S. and Western Gulf of Mexico to the Mid-Atlantic Region… A thin density aerosol was seen this morning around the periphery of widespread cloud cover over the southeastern U.S. which was associated with a large low pressure system near the coast of southern Louisiana. The aerosol was mainly visible over a portion of the western Gulf of Mexico, central and eastern Texas, and southeastern Oklahoma. From Oklahoma, the aerosol was seen extending to the east and northeast to the Mid-Atlantic region. The source and composition of the aerosol was not known. 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