DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1655Z May 3, 2024
SMOKE: Florida... Several agricultural burns originating from the surrounding areas of Lake Okeechobee were seen emitting plumes of light to moderate smoke dispersing westward towards the Gulf of Mexico. AEROSOL/SMOKE: Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean Sea/Yucatan Peninsula/Central-Southern Mexico/Central America/Pacific Ocean... A large area of predominantly light to moderate density smoke attributed to widespread seasonal fire activity throughout central-southern Mexico, Central America and northern South America was observed this morning extending from the Gulf of Mexico, through the Caribbean sea, central-southern Mexico, Central America and into the Pacific Ocean off the southwest coastlines of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. Areas of slightly more dense smoke and aerosols were observed over Central America, the Yucatan Peninsula and the western portion of the Gulf of Mexico. Aerosols from a composite of volcanic emissions and industrial sources in Mexico, and gas flaring activity in the Bay of Campeche contributed to the expansive area of aerosol/smoke observed throughout these regions this morning. 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