Thursday, May 9, 2024

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