DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0010Z March 13, 2023
SMOKE/AEROSOL: South Central and Southeastern U.S./Atlantic Ocean off the Southeastern U.S. Coast/Gulf of Mexico/Central and Western Caribbean Sea/Hispaniola/Jamaica/Cuba/Southern, Central, and Eastern Mexico/Central America/Pacific Ocean Well South of Mexico and Central America… A large area of predominantly light density smoke originating from a combination of seasonal fire activity and a multiple wildfires in Mexico, Central America, Cuba, and portions of the south central and southeastern U.S. along with aerosols from industrial activity primarily from Mexico, Central America, and Cuba was seen again this afternoon over the same general area which has been impacted for the past several days. The smoke/aerosol mix was noted over much of the Gulf of Mexico including the south central and southeastern U.S. coastlines, extending over Florida and further east over the Atlantic, in addition to the central and western part of the Caribbean Sea, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and continuing to the south and west over the Yucatan Peninsula, central-southern Mexico, and Central America, and the Pacific Ocean off southern Mexico and Central America. Widespread fire activity was particularly noticeable across Cuba resulting in an area of higher smoke concentration along the island’s northern coastline where the smoke was being pushed to. Aerosol accumulation was also visible over the western Gulf of Mexico due to stagnant winds. WS 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