DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0135Z April 16, 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 western Nebraska, most of South Dakota, through the Central U.S and into the Ohio Valley, through the Mid-Atlantic and southeastern U.S., and extending over the Atlantic Ocean for several hundred miles. This smoke also extended south into the Gulf of Mexico where it likely mingled with smoke/aerosol produced from Mexico and Cuba Southern Florida... Multiple agricultural fires were again observed south of Lake Okeechobee, releasing light-to-moderate density smoke to the west over western Palm Beach County, across most of Hendry County, and into Gulf of Mexico. AEROSOL/SMOKE: Southern and Central Mexico/Gulf of Mexico/Cuba/Pacific Ocean... Seasonal fire activity throughout central-southern Mexico, Central America, Cuba and northern South America contributed to an area of mostly light density smoke that was observed this evening over the 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 and Campeche/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. DUST: New Mexico/Texas/Oklahoma/Northern Mexico... Light to moderate blowing dust originating from New Mexico and northern Mexico was seen extending northeast across the regions and into parts of northwestern Texas and western Oklahoma. The dust from New Mexico likely originated from the White Sands. 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