Tuesday, March 21, 2023

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0126Z March 22, 2023


SMOKE:
Southeastern U.S./Atlantic Coastal Region/Great Lakes Region/Northeastern
U.S./Atlantic Ocean off the East and Southeast U.S. Coast/Eastern Gulf
of Mexico/Cuba/Western Caribbean Sea…
A large mass of thin to moderate density smoke linked to significant
widespread seasonal fire activity today in the central and southeastern
U.S. was seen over portions of the southeastern U.S., Atlantic coastal
region, and the Great Lakes region. The smoke also extended offshore
along eastern U.S. coastline over the Atlantic Ocean and spread to the
south and southwest from there over the northern Bahamas, northern and
southern Cuba, Hispaniola, and the Gulf of Mexico. Embedded patches of
heavy density could be seen throughout the far southeastern U.S. and
over the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Denser areas of smoke probably
exist in the southeastern U.S. where the burning was heavy but cloud
cover late in the day precluded further analysis.

SMOKE/AEROSOL:
Southern Texas/Gulf of Mexico/Southern and Eastern Mexico/Central
America/Pacific Ocean South of Mexico and Central America…
A mixture of mainly thin density smoke from seasonal fire activity and
aerosols from industrial activity both originating from portions of Mexico
and Central America was seen today over Southern Texas, most of the Gulf
of Mexico, southern and eastern Mexico, some of northern Central America,
and extending well to the south of Mexico and Central America over the
Pacific Ocean.

Eglin


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

 


Unless otherwise indicated:
  • Areas of smoke are analyzed using GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST Visible satellite imagery.
  • Only a general description of areas of smoke or significant smoke plumes will be analyzed.
  • A quantitative assessment of the density/amount of particulate or the vertical distribution is not included.
  • Widespread cloudiness may prevent the detection of smoke even from significant fires.