DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1630Z January 4, 2023
SMOKE/AEROSOL: Southeastern U.S./Gulf of Mexico/Western Gulf Coast/Eastern and Southeastern Mexico/Northwestern Central America/Pacific Ocean off the Coast of Southern Mexico and Northwestern Central America… A large area consisting of a mix of smoke from seasonal fires occurring especially in Mexico and aerosols from industrial activities also primarily in Mexico was visible this morning over portions of eastern and southeastern Mexico, northwestern Central America, and the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern Mexico and northwestern Central America. The smoke/aerosol mix also extended to the north over the Bay of Campeche and a sizable portion of the western and central Gulf of Mexico and inland over the southeastern U.S. where it became obscured by cloud cover. The smoke/aerosol mixture was more concentrated reaching moderate density over the west central Gulf of Mexico and along and off the southern coast of Guatemala. Cuba/Caribbean Sea/Florida Keys… Patches of thin density smoke from seasonal fire activity and industrial sources in Cuba were seen this morning over portions of Cuba and near the southern coast of Cuba over the Caribbean Sea. The smoke/aerosol mixture also extended off the northwest coast of Cuba reaching the western Florida Keys. 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