DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1600Z February 16, 2026
SMOKE: Southeast CONUS/Florida… A small cluster of agricultural fires were observed south of Lake Okeechobee, producing a light-density smoke plume. No additional plumes were observed due to cloud cover in the region. Cuba… Remnant smoke from yesterday’s fire activity was observed over Havana, Cuba. Smoke traveled offshore towards the east-northeast. A similar smoke plume was observed in southeastern Cuba. AEROSOL/SMOKE: Mexico/Gulf of America/Pacific Ocean… Smoke from scattered fire activity, as well as industrial aerosol emissions and remnant smoke from previous days, concentrated into an area of light-to-moderate smoke that extended southwestward off the Mexican and Guatemalan coasts into the Pacific Ocean. Smoke also spread across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and into the Gulf of America, reaching just south of Texas to the west, and past the Yucatan Peninsula to the northeast. Gaskill 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