DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z October 29, 2026
SMOKE: Southeastern U.S.… Multiple fires were active this afternoon and evening across the southeastern U.S. A few fires located in Georgia and Alabama were observed producing individual light to moderate-density smoke plumes. A large area of light-density smoke stretched across the Mississippi Valley, moving northeastern through Arkansas into Missouri and Illinois. A few fires in Louisiana were observed producing medium to light-density smoke plumes drifting westward. North Dakota/Manitoba… Widespread agricultural burning was observed across northeastern North Dakota and far-south central Manitoba, producing mainly light-density smoke plumes moving eastward. California… Widespread fire activity in the northern Central Valley was observed producing light-density smoke plumes drifting northward. Due to the presence of widespread cloud cover across central and northern California into the Pacific northwest, view of the low levels is obscured and as such more smoke may be present than analyzed. Mexico/Central America… A layer of light to moderate-density smoke from fires and industrial sources was observed over the Bay of Campeche, the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and along the southwestern coast of Mexico/Central America before drifting west-northwest to westward across the Pacific Ocean just offshore of southern Mexico. Fires along the eastern coast of Mexico were observed producing a layer of light-density smoke drifting to the north-northwest. Liner 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