DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1735Z March 23, 2024
SMOKE: Central United States... An area of light to moderate density smoke was observed this morning covering a large portion of the central U.S. due attributed to moderate to heavy seasonal burning throughout the Midwest region. Smoke was observed beginning in Texas, Kansas and Nebraska continuing east into Arkansas and Missouri, then northeast throughout Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. Cloud coverage over the central and eastern U.S. regions this morning made smoke plume analysis difficult. AEROSOL/SMOKE: Gulf of Mexico/Yucatan Peninsula/West 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, mixed with aerosol from a composite of volcanic emissions in Mexico and industrial sources was observed over the southern part of the Gulf of Mexico/Bay of Campeche, extending east towards Cuba and the western portion of Caribbean sea. This composite of smoke and aerosol was also seen covering the majority of Central America and a portion of the Pacific Ocean south of Mexico and west of 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