DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0030Z March 18, 2023
SMOKE/AEROSOLS: Southeastern U.S/Gulf of Mexico/Southern Mexico/Northern Central America/Pacific Ocean (off Mexico/Central America coast).. A large area of mainly thin density smoke/haze from wild/agricultural fires and industrial activity in Mexico and Central America was seen stretching from the Pacific Ocean (off the Mexico/Central America coast) across southern and eastern Mexico and northern Central America eastward across most of the Gulf of Mexico. Pockets of moderately dense smoke is seen along coastal regions of eastern Mexico and into the western Gulf of Mexico. This smoke/aerosol mix may extend further north into the Southeastern U.S, where it would mingle with smoke produced from fire and agricultural activity in the Southeastern CONUS, but heavy cloud cover extending up into the Mid-Atlantic precluded further observations for this evening’s analysis. 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