DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1630Z February 12, 2023
SMOKE: Southeastern Texas/Western Gulf of Mexico… A couple of patches of leftover thin density smoke, likely associated with seasonal fire activity yesterday just inland from the Texas Gulf coast region, were visible this morning over the far western Gulf of Mexico. One of the leftover patches of smoke extended over a portion of Galveston Bay while the second one brushed the far southern tip of Texas. Cuba/Caribbean Sea/Yucatan Peninsula/Southeastern Gulf of Mexico/Southern Florida/Bahamas… An area of generally thin density smoke primarily from continuing widespread daily fire activity in Cuba was seen across much of Cuba and the Caribbean Sea to the south of Cuba. The smoke area then spread to the north and eventually the northeast over the southeast part of the Gulf of Mexico, southern Florida, and the northern Bahamas. Smaller embedded areas of thicker density smoke were present mainly over Cuba and along and just off the southern coast of Cuba. In addition, a band of thinner density remnant smoke/aerosol, attributed to seasonal fire activity and industrial activity in Mexico, was seen along a frontal boundary stretching from the Yucatan Peninsula to eastern Cuba where it merged with smoke from the fires in Cuba. SMOKE/AEROSOL/DUST: Bay of Campeche/Eastern and Southern Mexico/Northwestern Central America/Pacific Ocean south of Southern Mexico and Northwestern Central America… The large area 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 again visible this morning over a good portion of southern and eastern Mexico, northwestern Central America, the western part of the Bay of Campeche, and well off the southern coast of Mexico and northwestern Central America over the Pacific Ocean. An embedded area of moderately dense smoke/aerosol combined with blowing dust emanating from sources near the coast of far southeastern Mexico and southern Guatemala was present moving to the south over and south of the Gulf of Tehuantepec and to the south of Guatemala over the Pacific. 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