DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1550Z May 12, 2023
SMOKE: Canada, Central and Eastern United States and the Atlantic Ocean off the Northeast United States Coast… A very large area of smoke of varying density from recent wildfire activity in western Canada continued to be seen covering much of Canada as well the Northeastern United States and extending well offshore of the northeastern United State and over the Atlantic Ocean south of southeastern Canada. Moderate to localized high density smoke was seen extending from northern Manitoba and northern Alberta north into the Northwest Territories. An area of moderate to high density smoke was also seen off the southeastern Canadian coast and extending northeast into the North Atlantic Ocean. It is also possible that smoke from fires in Mexico and Central America may be mixing in with the smoke from the Canadian fires especially around Central and Southern United States. SMOKE/AEROSOL: Atlantic Ocean off the Southeast United States Coast, Eastern United States, Central United States, Gulf of Mexico, Western Caribbean Sea, Mexico, Northwestern Central America and the Pacific Ocean south and southwest of Northwestern Central America and Southern Mexico… The huge area of mainly thin to moderate density smoke from the ongoing seasonal fire activity occurring in Mexico and Central America continued to be visible from the Atlantic Ocean off the Southeast United States Coast, extending west to the Eastern and Central United States, Gulf of Mexico, western Caribbean Sea, Mexico, northwestern Central America and the Pacific Ocean south and southwest of the southwestern coast of northwestern Central America and southwestern Mexico. The highest density smoke within this region was an area of moderate density smoke that was seen extending from northwestern Central America and southern Mexico north through the western Gulf of Mexico and Mexico coastline to southern Texas. While most of what is seen in satellite imagery is believed to be smoke, some aerosols from industrial activity mainly in Mexico and Central America may be mixing in. BLOWING DUST: South Central United States…. An area of blowing dust was seen this morning extending from portions of Kansas and western Oklahoma southwest through northern Texas and into eastern New Mexico. Hanna 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