DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0131Z April 12, 2023
SMOKE: Central and Eastern CONUS… Heavy seasonal burning cross the central and eastern U.S. was responsible for a large area of mostly light to moderate density smoke extending from Central U.S. eastward to the northeastern U.S., the Mid-Atlantic region, the southeastern U.S., and narrowing into a band off the coast of the Mid-Atlantic region. Within the large area of smoke, patches of moderate to heavy density smoke were observed in the vicinity of the fires. SMOKE/AEROSOL: Southwestern and southern Texas/Gulf of Mexico/Cuba/Caribbean Sea/Northwestern Central America/Eastern Half of Mexico/Pacific Ocean South of the Southern Coast of Mexico and Central America… The large smoke/aerosol layer that has been persistent extends from the southern CONUS to the tropical Pacific and the Caribbean. Much of this layer is of light density, but is more of a moderate to perhaps thick density across the Bay of Campeche, the surrounding coast of Mexico, the Isthmus and Gulf of Tehuantepec, the southern half of the Pacific coast of Mexico, the Guatemalan coast, and the Tropical Pacific west-southwest of the Mexican and Guatemalan Coasts. The parent sources of this layer are seasonal burning across Hispaniola, Cuba, the Yucatan, Central America, and the eastern coastal plain of Mexico...and industrial sources across southern Mexico. YL 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