DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0000Z April 13, 2023
SMOKE: Central and Eastern CONUS… A large area of remnant smoke comprised of emissions from mainly agricultural burns across the central and southeastern CONUS continued to be seen blanketing a region that includes a vast majority of the eastern CONUS, central and eastern Ontario, far southwestern Quebec, and portions of the western North Atlantic. The smoke is mainly light, but some areas of medium to high density were seen across the southeast, throughout the Mississippi Valley and the southwest specifically in Oklahoma. 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… Mostly a large light density smoke/aerosol layer across most of Mexico and the northern portion of Central America this evening. BLOWING DUST/VOLCANIC ASH/UNKNOWN AEROSOL… Northern Pacific/Gulf of Alaska/Alaska… A stripe of aerosol continues to extend from south of the Aleutians across the Gulf of Alaska is almost certainly and completely comprised of dust from a large dust storm that has its origins in the Gobi Desert. However, there is also a chance that a small portion of this aerosol is volcanic ash from the eruption of Sheveluch volcano in central Kamchatka Peninsula as well. This possibility is still mentioned though since a cloud of aerosol that likely IS of volcanic origin was observed extending east from the Alaskan Mainland across Kodiak Island and into the Gulf of Alaska. Rodriguez 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