DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0050Z February 10, 2023
SMOKE: Southeastern CONUS... In recent days, widespread agricultural burning was noted across southeastern U.S but cloud cover over most of the southeastern CONUS prevented further smoke analysis to be done in these regions. Cuba/Caribbean Sea... A large area of mainly thin density smoke from widespread fire activity in Cuba was seen across much of Cuba and extending into the Caribbean Sea along the coastal areas. SMOKE/AEROSOL/DUST: Gulf of Mexico, Eastern and Southern Mexico, Northwestern Central America and the Pacific Ocean South of Southern Mexico and Northwestern Central America… Similar to recent days, a very large area of a mixture of primarily thin smoke, industrial aerosol and dust was seen over coastal regions of Texas and Louisiana western Gulf of Mexico, southern and eastern Mexico, Northwestern Central America, and extending well off the southern coast of Mexico and northwestern Central America over the Pacific Ocean. The mixture pay extend further into the northeastern region of the Gulf of Mexico, but heavy cloud restricted analysis in this area. It is believed that the western and northwestern portion of this large area was likely mainly composed of smoke from ongoing seasonal fire activity in Mexico and while the areas farther to the east off the southeastern coast of Mexico and northwestern Central America were composed primarily of aerosols from industrial activities in the region and blowing dust. BLOWING DUST: New Mexico... A large amount of blowing dust was observed moving south, originating from the White Sands National Park in southern New Mexico. Texas... Very light dust was seen in East Texas, moving south. This dust may have potentially originate from eastern New Mexico, but cloud cover obstructed this region. 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