Wednesday, January 28, 2026

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0000Z January 29, 2026

SMOKE:
Southeastern CONUS/Gulf of America/Atlantic Ocean…
Widespread agricultural fires stretching from southern Mississippi to
North Carolina, as well as residual emissions from yesterday’s fire
activity in the region, produced a large area of light-density smoke
drifting east into the Atlantic Ocean and southeast into the northern
Gulf. Moderate-to-heavy density smoke was also observed in southern
Alabama and the Florida panhandle, drifting southeast offshore into the
northern Gulf.

Texas/Gulf of America…
Fires were observed this evening along Texas’ Gulf Coast, drifting
offshore into the northwestern Gulf.

AEROSOL/SMOKE:
Mexico/Gulf of America/Guatemala/Pacific Ocean...
Scattered fire activity across southwest Mexico, as well as remnant smoke
and urban aerosol from previous days, produced an area of light-density
smoke across the region. Smoke spread along the southwestern coastal
plain of Mexico and extended southwest into the Pacific.

GL


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:http://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.