DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1625Z May 4, 2024

SMOKE:
Florida...
Several agricultural burns originating from the surrounding areas of
Lake Okeechobee were seen emitting plumes of light to moderate smoke
dispersing northwestward towards the Gulf of Mexico this morning.

AEROSOL/SMOKE:
Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean Sea/Yucatan Peninsula/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,
the Yucatan Peninsula, Central America and northern South America was
observed this morning extending from the Gulf of Mexico, through the
Caribbean sea towards Cuba and Jamaica, and then west to central-southern
Mexico, Central America and into the Pacific Ocean off the southwest
coastlines of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. Areas of
higher density smoke and aerosols were observed over Central America,
the Yucatan Peninsula 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 this morning.

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

Unless otherwise indicated:

Areas of smoke are analyzed using GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST Visible satellite imagery.

Only a general description of areas of smoke or significant smoke plumes will be analyzed.

A quantitative assessment of the density/amount of particulate or the vertical distribution is not included.

Widespread cloudiness may prevent the detection of smoke even from significant fires.