DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0100Z January 16, 2023
SMOKE: Southeastern U.S… A significant number of mainly thin density smoke plumes from seasonal fire activity were detected across the southeastern U.S. during the day. The most numerous fires were seen over southern Georgia. Cuba… Numerous smoke plumes of primarily thin density were visible from what is believed to be mostly seasonal fires scattered across Cuba. The smoke was moving to the south with some of it spreading over the nearby Caribbean. SMOKE/AEROSOL: Southern Texas/Southern and Eastern Mexico/Northwestern Central America/Western Gulf of Mexico/Bay of Campeche/Pacific Ocean south of Mexico and Northwestern Central America… A combination of thin density smoke from seasonal burning in Mexico and generally thin density aerosols from industrial activity in Mexico was present from the Bay of Campeche and eastern Mexico northward over the western Gulf of Mexico and into southern Texas. Cloud cover north of southern Texas prevented additional information on the extent of the smoke/aerosol in that region. The smoke/aerosol mix also covered southern Mexico and a portion of Northwestern Central America and extended from those locations well to the south over the Pacific Ocean. 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