Monday, February 26, 2024

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

 


Unless otherwise indicated:
  • Areas of smoke are analyzed using GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST Visible satellite imagery.
  • Only a general description of areas of smoke or significant smoke plumes will be analyzed.
  • A quantitative assessment of the density/amount of particulate or the vertical distribution is not included.
  • Widespread cloudiness may prevent the detection of smoke even from significant fires.