DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0130Z April 17, 2023
SMOKE: Eastern U.S/Atlantic Ocean Off the U.S. East Coast… An area of thin density smoke was previously seen over the Midwestern and Northeastern United States extending through southern Ontario and southern Quebec and then southeast well offshore into the North Atlantic Ocean. Due to cloud cover over much of the Midwestern and Eastern U.S along with a lack of visible light, smoke was difficult to detect and was only clearly seen over the Atlantic coast offshore of Georgia and South Carolina. SMOKE/AEROSOL: Atlantic Ocean off the Southeast Coast of the United States, Western Gulf of Mexico, Western Caribbean Islands, Western Caribbean Sea, Southern and Eastern Mexico, Northwestern Central America and the Pacific Ocean South of the Southern Coast of Mexico and Central America… The ongoing area of primarily thin to moderate density smoke attributed to the widespread and significant seasonal fire activity in Mexico, Central America and the western Caribbean Islands was seen extending from offshore the southeastern United States through the Gulf Coastal States of the United States, the Gulf of Mexico, the Western Caribbean Islands, the Western Caribbean Sea, majority of Mexico while excluding the northern regions, northwestern Central America and extending to the south well off the southern coast of Mexico and Central America over the Pacific Ocean. The thickest density smoke within this area was located over the western Gulf of Mexico, southern Mexico, the western Caribbean Sea, northwestern Central America and just offshore the Northwest Central American Pacific Coast. While the majority of this aerosol is believed to be composed of smoke, some aerosols from industrial activity in Mexico and Central America may be mixed in. BLOWING DUST: South Central U.S.. An area of thin to moderate density blowing dust was seen moving south/southeast across Southern Nebraska, Kansas, parts of eastern Oklahoma, and southwestern Missouri. The moderate density dust was more prevalent in southern Nebraska and northern Kansas area. VOLCANIC AEROSOL: Area Extending from Alaska and the Northwest Territories A large area of what is believed to be primarily sulfur dioxide (SO2) was seen extending from Alaska and portions of the Northwest Territories south into the Pacific Ocean. The S02 may extend further southeast into British Columbia but heavy cloud cover prevented further analysis. Information from the Washington and Montreal Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers indicate that while the majority of this aerosol is believed to be SO2, some ash may still be mixed in over the northern Northwest Territories. The source for this was the Sheveluch Volcano which had a recent significant eruption in the Kamchatka peninsula of Russia. UNKNOWN AEROSOL: Central U.S/Saskatchewan and Manitoba… A large area of unknown aerosol was visible extending south from southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba through the Central U.S towards Kansas and northern outskirts of Oklahoma. This unknown aerosol is may be a mixture of S02 and dust mentioned in previous sections, along with potential remnant thin density smoke from the wide spread seasonal burning in previous 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