DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1745Z May 30, 2024
SMOKE: Canada/Greenland/Atlantic Ocean... Numerous wildfires located throughout Canada from northeast British Columbia, to the Northwest Territories/Alberta border and the central regions of Alberta continue to burn today. Due to the large presence of ongoing wildfires and recently developed ones throughout these areas, a large area of smoke ranging from light to moderate density continue to cover a majority of Canada; extending from the Northwest Territories, across British Columbia, Alberta, northern Saskatchewan and regions near the North Pole. The smoke continued extending east over the Hudson Bay and into the Davis Strait before it split and began dispersing into two different directions, moving north and south along the west coast of Greenland. The thickest density smoke continues to be seen in areas close to the larger wildfires, such as those located in northeast British Columbia, northwest Alberta and the Northwest Territories/Alberta border. Central and Eastern United States... An area of light density smoke was seen throughout the Upper Midwest region of the United States where it combined with the some areas of Canadian smoke and further extended southeast towards the Gulf States. In this region the mass of light density smoke began to combine with the area of Mexican and Central American smoke, where it was then seen extending east along the Gulf Coast and into the Atlantic Ocean before it continued north along the east coast of the United States where it traveled as far north as the southern tip of Greenland. Oregon/Washington... Several scattered fires located throughout central Oregon and southern Washington were seen emitting light density smoke plumes that were dispersing in varying directions that remained close to their origin and within in their respective states. New Mexico... Two fires located in north-central New Mexico were seen emitting light smoke today. The Indos wildfire located in Santa Fe National Forest was seen emitting a light density smoke plume that was blowing west towards its origin before becoming stagnant. A new prescribed fire located in Carson National Forest was also seen emitting a light density plume that was blowing west towards its origin before becoming stagnant at its origin. Florida... Several agricultural burns originating from the surrounding areas of Lake Okeechobee were seen emitting plumes of light smoke that were dispersing west towards the Gulf of Mexico. AEROSOL/SMOKE: Gulf of Mexico/Yucatan Peninsula/Caribbean Sea/Central and Southern Mexico/Central America/Pacific Ocean... A large area of predominantly light to moderate density smoke attributed to widespread seasonal fire activity throughout central and southern Mexico and Central America was observed this morning from the Gulf of Mexico, extending northeast through Florida and into the Atlantic Ocean, where it continued moving north along the entire east coast of the United States. From the Gulf of Mexico, the large area of aerosol and smoke continued expanding through the western Caribbean Sea, Cuba, Jamaica, central and southern Mexico, Central America and into the Pacific Ocean off the southwest coastline of Mexico. Areas of higher density smoke and aerosols were observed over northern Central America and the Gulf of Mexico. Aerosols from a composite of volcanic emissions and industrial sources in Mexico, and gas flaring activity in the southwest region of the Gulf of Mexico likely contributed to the expansive area of aerosol and smoke observed throughout these regions today. 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