Friday, March 29, 2024

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1725Z March 29, 2024

SMOKE:
Midwestern/Southeastern United States...
A large area of light density remnant smoke attributed to moderate to
heavy seasonal agricultural burning throughout the Midwest was observed
in the central Midwest and parts of southeastern U.S. regions this
morning. The light density smoke extended southeast from Iowa through
central Missouri and Indiana. The smoke then continued moving east, as far
as the Atlantic Coasts of North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland, where
it was then seen dispersing just off the coastline. Some of this smoke
observed in the Midwest region is likely remnant smoke from the numerous
fires and notable plumes observed yesterday in northeast Arkansas,
southeast Kansas and northeast Oklahoma. Within the region,there are
likely sizable smoke plumes, however, extensive cloud cover make analysis
difficult to complete.
In the southeastern U.S. region a small area of remnant smoke attributed
to several large plumes that were observed yesterday, can be seen in
southern Louisiana. Several light to moderate plumes were also noted in
southern Florida this morning moving southwest towards the Gulf of Mexico.

AEROSOL/SMOKE:
Mexico/Gulf of Mexico/Bay of Campeche/Western Caribbean Sea/Cuba/Central
America/Pacific Ocean south of Mexico...
A large area of light to moderate density smoke originating from
widespread fire activity in Central America, mixed with aerosol
from a composite of volcanic and industrial emissions in Mexico was
observed over southern Mexico, the southern southern half of the Gulf
of Mexico/The Bay of Campeche, and the western portion of the Caribbean
Sea. This combination of smoke and aerosol was seen extending from the
Caribbean Sea northwest along the Cayman Trench, just off the eastern
side of Cuba where it was also seen extending southwest into the Yucatan
Peninsula/northern Central America, where it continues west into the
Pacific Ocean south of Mexico. In these regions, the smoke/aerosol was
noted to be moderate to even heavy in density.

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