DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0305Z February 15, 2024
SMOKE: Midwest/Southeast US... Wide-scale seasonal burning was detected over the southeastern United States from east Texas up into North Carolina, with the majority located within Florida. The light density smoke plumes observed in the southeast were moving west towards the Gulf of Mexico, with the exception of Texas which were moving north, and North Carolina which were moving southeast into the Atlantic Ocean. Smoke was also observed in Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, generally moving north. There were some moderate smoke plumes observed in eastern Texas and Missouri. AEROSOL/SMOKE: Southern Mexico and the Pacific Ocean South of Southwest Mexico... A combination of light smoke and aerosol was seen over the southwest coast of Mexico and extended into the eastern Pacific Ocean. The source of the smoke/aerosol is due to seasonal fires throughout Mexico and Central America, gas flaring over the Gulf of Mexico and urban pollution from Mexico and Central America. Willkens 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