DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1725Z March 29, 2024
SMOKE: Midwestern/Southeastern United States... A large area of light density remnant smoke attributed to moderate to heavy seasonal agricultural burning throughout the Midwest was observed in the central Midwest and parts of southeastern U.S. regions this morning. The light density smoke extended southeast from Iowa through central Missouri and Indiana. The smoke then continued moving east, as far as the Atlantic Coasts of North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland, where it was then seen dispersing just off the coastline. Some of this smoke observed in the Midwest region is likely remnant smoke from the numerous fires and notable plumes observed yesterday in northeast Arkansas, southeast Kansas and northeast Oklahoma. Within the region,there are likely sizable smoke plumes, however, extensive cloud cover make analysis difficult to complete. In the southeastern U.S. region a small area of remnant smoke attributed to several large plumes that were observed yesterday, can be seen in southern Louisiana. Several light to moderate plumes were also noted in southern Florida this morning moving southwest towards the Gulf of Mexico. AEROSOL/SMOKE: Mexico/Gulf of Mexico/Bay of Campeche/Western Caribbean Sea/Cuba/Central America/Pacific Ocean south of Mexico... A large area of light to moderate density smoke originating from widespread fire activity in Central America, mixed with aerosol from a composite of volcanic and industrial emissions in Mexico was observed over southern Mexico, the southern southern half of the Gulf of Mexico/The Bay of Campeche, and the western portion of the Caribbean Sea. This combination of smoke and aerosol was seen extending from the Caribbean Sea northwest along the Cayman Trench, just off the eastern side of Cuba where it was also seen extending southwest into the Yucatan Peninsula/northern Central America, where it continues west into the Pacific Ocean south of Mexico. In these regions, the smoke/aerosol was noted to be moderate to even heavy in density. 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