DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1630Z April 7, 2023
SMOKE: Central Plains… Heavy seasonal burning primarily in eastern Kansas is responsible for a large area of remnant to light density smoke that extended from Oklahoma, through the Central Plains, and eastward through parts of the Midwest and extending into Lake Michigan. Within this area, a patch of active moderate dense smoke was seen mainly across Iowa, moving in a north/northeast direction. In addition, individual light density smoke plumes were seen beginning to form within eastern Kansas. SMOKE/AEROSOL: Mexico/Gulf of Mexico/Hispaniola/Cuba/Caribbean Sea/Northwestern Central America/Eastern 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 eastern half of Mexico, portions of Central America, the Pacific off the coast of southern Mexico and northwestern Central America,and the Gulf of Mexico. Some aerosols from industrial activities originating in Mexico and Central America may also be mixed in with the smoke. Heavy cloud cover within the southern and eastern U.S prevented further analysis in the extent of the smoke that may be present in these areas. Moderate density areas of smoke were observed over southern Mexico, northwestern Central America, parts of the Gulf of Mexico, and Hispaniola. In addition, thick density smoke was seen emitting from a large wildfire moving westward within Hispaniola in this morning’s analysis. 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