DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1630Z March 8, 2023
SMOKE: Southeastern CONUS/Atlantic Ocean... Numerous light density smoke plumes from agricultural burning were visible across the southeastern CONUS, from Alabama to the Carolinas. The vast majority of the smoke plumes were seen moving west-southwestward, with the exception of the few smoke plumes in North Carolina where it was seen moving south. Within North Carolina, one of the smoke plumes near southern coast of the state was seen extending 100-200 miles south into the Atlantic Ocean. Remnant moderate smoke was briefly seen over in southern Georgia. SMOKE/AEROSOL: South Central and Southeastern U.S./Atlantic Ocean off the Southeast U.S. Coast/Gulf of Mexico/Hispaniola/Cuba/Jamaica/Caribbean Sea/Eastern and Southern Mexico/Northwestern Central America/Pacific Ocean off the Southern Coast of Mexico and Central America… The enormous mass of a mixture of smoke from significant seasonal fire activity and aerosol from gas flaring activity was seen encompassing an area from the Atlantic Ocean off the Carolina Coast to Pacific Ocean south of Mexico. Within the area, the smoke covered southern and eastern Mexico, southeastern U.S, Gulf of Mexico,Cuba, Hispaniola, and the Caribbean Sea. The smoke may extend further north into the U.S, but heavy cloud cover restricted further analysis. Patches of moderate dense remnant smoke was seen over the northern and western Gulf of Mexico, Pacific ocean south of Mexico, and off the coast of Southern Cuba. The seasonal fire activity across the southeastern CONUS is likely the largest contributor to the portions of the larger layer across the northern Gulf of Mexico, CONUS, and into the Atlantic, while activity across the NW Caribbean contributed to portions across the western Caribbean and into the eastern Gulf of Mexico and Central America. Towards the western region of the Gulf of Mexico, the contributions were mixed, from sources in the U.S, Mexico, and activity in the NW Caribbean. 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