DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1650Z February 16, 2024
SMOKE: Texas/New Mexico… A fire in western North Texas was seen emitting smoke that was moving west-southwestward in the early afternoon to westward later in the afternoon. South Florida… A fire in far southern Florida was observed producing light to perhaps moderate smoke this afternoon. There was also light smoke seen moving north-northeastward across Lake Okeechobee in the early afternoon that was seen through broken high cloud cover. It is possible further smoke production occurred, but cloud cover may have prevented the analysis of smoke there. Caribbean Islands… Smoke was seen extending westward from Cuba and Hispaniola offshore into the Caribbean Sea. A fire in northwest Cuba was also producing some thwat was moving north-northwestward to northward throughout the day. BLOWING DUST… West Texas/New Mexico… Dust was observed being lofted across West Texas and southeastern New Mexico late this afternoon. The dust was moving westward, abutting the mountains of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico just as the sun was setting. AEROSOL/SMOKE: Pacific Ocean/Southern Mexico/Pacific Coastal Central America/Bay of Campeche/Western Gulf of Mexico… A sizable area of light to moderate smoke and aerosol was seen extending from the Mexican state of Tabasco north then northeastward across the Gulf Coastal Plain of Mexico, the Western Bay of Campeche and the Western Gulf of Mexico while also extending southward across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and out over the Pacific Ocean and surrounding coastal plains. There are also sources of smoke and aerosol from throughout Pacific Coastal areas throughout Central America. Another area of smoke/aerosol was seen emanating from natural gas flaring activity in the eastern Bay of Campeche that was observed moving northwestward. Hosley 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