DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1630Z March 31, 2023
SMOKE: Central and Eastern US... Significant cloud cover moved over much of the central and eastern U.S. which prevented satellite detection of any leftover smoke which might be present in this region this morning. Yesterday’s round of significant seasonal fire activity especially in the central and southeastern U.S. makes it likely at least some remnant smoke is present over the central and eastern U.S. SMOKE/AEROSOL: South Central and Southeastern U.S./Gulf of Mexico/Southern and Eastern Mexico/Central America/Pacific Ocean South of Southern Mexico and Central America/Caribbean Sea/Cuba/Hispaniola/Jamaica… A mixture of primarily thin density smoke from seasonal fire activity in Mexico and Central America and aerosols from industrial activity also originating from portions of Mexico and Central America along with aerosols from gas flaring in the Bay of Campeche was detected was visible this morning over southern and eastern Mexico and Central America and extending to the south well out over the Pacific Ocean south of Mexico and Central America. The smoke/aerosol mix also extended to the north and northeast across much of the Gulf of Mexico and inland over at least some of the south central and southeastern U.S. though cloud cover inland over portions of the south central and southeastern U.S. limited additional information through satellite imagery on the extent of the smoke/aerosol in this region. Farther to the east, remnant thin density smoke from seasonal fires in Cuba, Hispaniola, and Jamaica along with some aerosol from industrial activity in these locations was seen spreading to the west over the central and western Caribbean Sea and to the northwest over the eastern and central Gulf of Mexico where it likely merged with the smoke/aerosols originating from Mexico and Central America. An embedded moderate moderate area of smoke from the fire activity primarily in Mexico and northwestern Central America was noted over a portion of southeastern Mexico and along and off the coast of southeastern Mexico and southern Guatemala. A smaller patch of moderate density smoke likely from fires in the Yucatan Peninsula was visible over the Bay of Campeche. DUST/SMOKE: Central and South Central U.S… Strong westerly winds were responsible this morning for newly forming streaks of blowing dust emanating from and spreading quickly to the east from numerous sources in southeastern Colorado, southwestern Kansas, the Oklahoma panhandle, northwestern and western Texas, and eastern New Mexico. A large area of remnant thin density blowing dust, attributed to the strong winds yesterday over the Central and Southern Plains region, was seen this morning moving to the east and northeast across a good portion of the central and south central U.S. in the general area stretching from Nebraska and Kansas to the east and northeast to at least as far north as southern Wisconsin and southwestern lower Michigan. The dust also extended to the south and southeast from Kansas and Nebraska over much of Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas. The dust also likely merged with smoke/aerosols being transported to the north and northeast from Mexico somewhere over the south central U.S. In addition, it is possible that some smoke from yesterday’s seasonal fire activity in the central U.S. may be mixing in with the dust especially in the portion of the area stretching from eastern Oklahoma and eastern Kansas to southern Wisconsin and southwestern lower Michigan. JS 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