DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1600Z April 15, 2024
SMOKE: Midwest and Eastern United States... A large area of light density smoke attributed seasonal fires occurring throughout the Central and Midwest U.S. was seen dispersing eastward from eastern Nebraska, southeastern South Dakota, Iowa and Missouri, to the Ohio Valley and the eastern U.S., and extending over the Atlantic Ocean for several hundred miles. Southern Florida... Multiple agricultural fires were again observed this morning south of Lake Okeechobee, releasing light-to-moderate density smoke to the west over western Palm Beach County and across most of Hendry County. AEROSOL/SMOKE: Southern and Central Mexico/Southern Gulf of Mexico/Pacific Ocean... Seasonal fire activity throughout central-southern Mexico, Central America and northern South America contributed to an area of mostly light density smoke that was observed this morning over the southern Gulf of Mexico, central Mexico, and the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern Mexico and northern Central America. A few large wildfires remain active in the state of Oaxaca/Mexico releasing moderate-density smoke to their immediate surroundings. Additional aerosol pollution from urban activity and gas flaring in central Mexico was also observed over the state of Veracruz. WS 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