DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0040Z February 22, 2023
SMOKE/AEROSOL/DUST: Southeastern U.S./Gulf of Mexico/Atlantic off the Southeast U.S. Coast/Cuba/Caribbean Sea/Southern and Eastern Mexico/Northwestern Central America/Pacific South of Mexico and Northwestern Central America... Satellite imagery showed a very large area of a thin density mixture of smoke and aerosol over the southern part of the south central and the southern southeastern U.S. stretching from southern Texas across the Gulf Coast region, through most of Florida, and offshore over the nearby Atlantic. This smoke/aerosol mixture likely extends further north into the southeastern CONUS and south-central U.S, however cloud cover precluded further analysis in the regions. The smoke/aerosol mixture also covered portions of southern and eastern Mexico, the Gulf of Mexico, Cuba, and the Caribbean Sea. The source of the larger mixture of thinner density smoke/aerosol was daily seasonal fire activity scattered across Cuba, Hispaniola, Central America, Mexico, and the south central and southeastern U.S. ,from industrial activity primarily in Hispaniola, Cuba, Mexico, and Central America, and from oil rigs within the Gulf of Mexico. Within this area, patches of moderate smoke/aerosol was seen in portions of Cuba. The mixture of smoke/aerosol was also noted well off the coast of southern Mexico and northwestern Central America over the Pacific. Recent bouts of blowing dust was adding to the mixture in this region and was seen emanating from a number of sources in northern and southeastern Mexico, as well as the southern portions of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua and spreading to the south over the Pacific. In addition, a moderate patch of smoke/aerosol mix was observed stretching along the coast of eastern and southeastern Mexico while extending parts into the Gulf of Mexico. This mixture may contain parts of blowing dust from southeastern Mexico but brief cloud cover made it difficult to determine. 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