DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0233Z February 27, 2024
SMOKE: Central U.S./Eastern U.S./Northern Gulf of Mexico… An area of thin density smoke with large areas of moderate to even dense smoke attributed heavy seasonal fire activity from western/central Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas continuing north through the Midwest U.S., to the Great Lakes region and southeast through the eastern United States just off the coastal Atlantic. The smoke also extended south over the northern Gulf of Mexico. Moderate to even dense smoke was prevalent over the Gulf States in the southeastern United States where the heaviest burning was detected. West-central Nebraska… Two wildfires in West-central Nebraska were observed releasing mostly moderate to even dense smoke at times. The smoke plumes combined and were moving east almost reaching Iowa as evening approached. Texas Panhandle... At least 4 wildfires and brush fires broke out late this evening in the Texas Panhandle. Most of the area was in and out of cloud cover but after dark these fires started to quickly spread from west to east. Cuba/Caribbean Sea… Areas of light density smoke were seen off the southern Cuba coast later this afternoon. The smoke appeared to be moving southwest from Cuba into the Caribbean Sea. AEROSOL/SMOKE… Southern/Eastern Mexico/Bay of Campeche/Central America/Pacific Ocean south of Mexico… An area of light density aerosol from a composite of smoke due to agricultural burning, volcanic ash and industrial sources was noted over the Southern Bay of Campeche, southern/eastern Mexico, the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern Mexico and northwestern Central America today. Eglin 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