DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1700Z February 17, 2024
SMOKE: There were no areas of significant smoke observed this morning due to widespread cloud coverage across the US and the surrounding regions. AEROSOL/SMOKE: Pacific Ocean/Southern Mexico/Southern Gulf of Mexico/Atlantic Ocean of Southeast coast of Florida/Western Caribbean Sea… A sizable area of light to moderate smoke and aerosol was seen in the eastern Pacific ocean moving northeast, covering Central America, and extending into the southern golf of Mexico. The vast area of smoke and aerosol extended across the southern tip of Florida into the Atlantic Ocean, and south into the Caribbean Sea. The source of the smoke and aerosol in these areas is due to seasonal fires 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