Wednesday January 4, 2023

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

 


Unless otherwise indicated:
  • Areas of smoke are analyzed using GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST Visible satellite imagery.
  • Only a general description of areas of smoke or significant smoke plumes will be analyzed.
  • A quantitative assessment of the density/amount of particulate or the vertical distribution is not included.
  • Widespread cloudiness may prevent the detection of smoke even from significant fires.