DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0120Z March 3, 2023
SMOKE/AEROSOL: South Central and Southeastern U.S./Atlantic Ocean off the Southeast U.S. Coast/Gulf of Mexico/Hispaniola/Cuba/Jamaica/Caribbean Sea/Southern and Eastern Mexico/Northwestern Central America/Pacific Ocean South of Mexico and Central America… The enormous mass of smoke from seasonal fire activity occurring in Mexico, Central America, Cuba, Hispaniola, and the southeastern U.S., a few wildfires especially in Cuba and Hispaniola, along with aerosols from industrial activity mainly in Mexico, Central America, Cuba, and Hispaniola, continued to be visible this evening generally impacting the same regions affected in recent days. The smoke/aerosol mix covered a portion of the south central and southeastern U.S. though cloud cover farther inland from the U.S. Gulf coast region limited additional information on the extent of the smoke/aerosol mix through satellite imagery. The mix also was present over the Atlantic well off the southeastern U.S., the Gulf of Mexico, Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica, much of the central and western Caribbean Sea, southern and eastern Mexico, Central America, and the Pacific Ocean well south of the southern coast of Mexico and Central America. Embedded areas of moderately dense smoke/aerosol were seen over far southeastern Mexico, northwestern Central America, and a portion of the Pacific just off the southern coast of southeastern Mexico and northwestern Central America. The moderate density mix also extended to the north over eastern Mexico, a portion of the Bay of Campeche, and the western Gulf of Mexico. Farther to the east and northeast, the thin to moderately dense smoke/aerosol mix over Cuba, the Caribbean Sea south of Cuba, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, Florida, and the Atlantic off the coast of the southeastern U.S. was believed to be mainly composed of smoke from significant seasonal fire activity and a few wildfires primarily in Cuba and Hispaniola. Seasonal fire activity in Florida is likely also contributing to the portion of smoke over Florida and to the east of Florida over the Atlantic. Patches of thick smoke were visible over both eastern and western Cuba which were most likely mainly from the larger wildfires burning in that country. Thicker smoke was also seen moving to the west from wildfires in central and western Hispaniola. Dust: Texas/New Mexico/Northern Mexico… Strong westerly winds along an advancing frontal boundary allowed the progression of thin to moderate density blowing dust which was spreading out to the east and southeast over south central and southeastern New Mexico, western and central Texas, and northern Mexico. The dust may extend further east and north within the U.S but cloud cover prevented further analysis in these regions. Nguyen 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