Wednesday, March 13, 2024

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0000Z March 14, 2024

SMOKE:
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast United States/Atlantic Ocean...
A mass of thin to moderate density smoke attributed to moderate to heavy
seasonal burning was observed covering a large area of the Midwest,
Southeast and Northeast U.S, and extending into the Atlantic Ocean
along the eastern coast of the U.S.  The smoke began from Louisiana
then extended to the north and east through the Midwest, ending in the
western Great Lakes region near eastern Iowa and western Illinois. The
burning and smoke continued east throughout the northeast/southeast
U.S., extending just past the coastal Atlantic, where it was then seen
dispersing over the Atlantic Ocean. As a mass the smoke was generally
moving northeast and east in direction. Some light to moderate remnant
smoke from last evening was also noted near the northern Arkansas and
southern Missouri border. In addition, numerous smoke plumes ranging
from light to moderate density are likely scattered throughout the area
but with sporadic cloud cover, smoke analysis for these plumes were
difficult to distinguish and analyzed.


AEROSOL/SMOKE:
Gulf of Mexico/Yucatan Peninsula/Western Caribbean Sea/Pacific Ocean
south of Mexico/Central America...
A large area of predominantly light density smoke originating from
widespread fire activity in Central America and northern South America,
mixed in with aerosol from a composite of volcanic emissions in Mexico,
and industrial sources was observed over a large portion of the Gulf
of Mexico, extending east towards the southern tip of the Florida
peninsula. This smoke was also seen covering areas of Central America and
the Pacific ocean off the coast of southern Mexico and Central America.

Nguyen


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.