DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1725Z May 9, 2024
SMOKE: Southeastern United States... An large area of predominantly light density smoke attributed seasonal burning and the residual smoke from previous day’s activity was seen throughout the southern U.S. region where it extended northeast into the Coastal Atlantic region. The combination of the smoke present within the Gulf of Mexico and the residual smoke present within the southeastern U.S. contributed to the large area of smoke that was observed moving northeast in direction from Louisiana, through the Carolinas and dispersing into the Atlantic Ocean off the coastlines of Virginia and Maryland. Florida... Several agricultural burns originating from the surrounding areas of Lake Okeechobee were seen emitting plumes of light smoke dispersing northeast towards the Atlantic Coast. Arizona... A plume of light smoke was observed emanating from one of the two suspected wildfires located in central Arizona this morning traveling westward in direction. SMOKE: British Columbia... Several fires within British Columbia were observed emitting light density smoke plumes that were dispersing eastward in direction just over the Alberta border. AEROSOL/SMOKE: Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean Sea/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 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. 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