DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0100Z April 6, 2023
SMOKE: Kansas/Oklahoma… Widespread seasonal fire activity was observed across western Kansas and Oklahoma, producing mainly thin density smoke plumes. The smoke plumes observed in Kansas were seen moving southeast while the smoke in Oklahoma was seen moving southward. SMOKE/AEROSOL: Atlantic Ocean off the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic Coast of the U.S./Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico/Hispaniola/Cuba/Jamaica/Caribbean Sea/Northwestern Central America/Southeastern Half of Mexico/Pacific Ocean South of the Southern Coast of Mexico and Central America... Significant and widespread seasonal fire activity in Mexico and Central America resulted in a very large mass of primarily thin to moderate density smoke which blanketed much of the southeastern half of Mexico, portions of Central America, the Pacific off the coast of southern Mexico and northwestern Central America, the Gulf of Mexico, and the southeastern U.S. and Middle Atlantic region. Cloudiness in various places including the Gulf of Mexico and inland over the southeastern U.S. and Mid-Atlantic region limited the certainty of the location of the smoke in those areas from satellite imagery. While the smoke over the U.S. was likely thin in density, moderate to even smaller thick areas of smoke were seen over some of southern and southeastern Mexico, northwestern Central America, and extending well into the western Gulf of Mexico. This moderate smoke over in the Gulf of Mexico may potentially extend further north into the Southern U.S, but heavy cloud cover restricted further analysis. In addition, more smoke mixed with aerosols originating from seasonal fires and industrial sources in Cuba and Hispaniola was observed spreading to the west over some of the central and western Caribbean and then to the northwest over the eastern and central Gulf of Mexico where it likely merged with the smoke/aerosols originating from Mexico and Central America. Blowing Dust: Central U.S… Very light residual dust originating from western Oklahoma and New Mexico was observing moving northeast across the central U.S, through Kansas and into parts of Missouri and Iowa. Cloud cover over western Oklahoma and Texas as well as eastern U.S made it difficult to determine if pockets of dust extended further. 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