DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1648Z April 17th, 2025
SMOKE: Eastern Gulf of America/Florida… A large amount of light-density residual smoke from northern Florida and southern Georgia was observed over the eastern Gulf of America and northern Florida. Also, agricultural fires near and south of Lake Okeechobee were observed producing light-density smoke plumes moving quickly to the southwest. Cuba… Seasonal fire activity was observed this morning across most of Cuba, producing light-density smoke moving to the southwest. The Bahamas… A large fire was observed in the satellite image over the Blackwood Village area in The Bahamas, producing light-density smoke moving to the SSW. AEROSOL/SMOKE: Central-Southern Mexico/Gulf of America/Yucatan Peninsula/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 today over southern Mexico, the western portion of the Gulf of America, Central America, and the Pacific Ocean off the southern coastline of Mexico. Aerosols from a combination of volcanic emissions and industrial sources in Mexico also contributed to the expansive area of aerosol and smoke observed in these regions. YL 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