DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0000Z February 17, 2026

SMOKE:
Southeast CONUS/Eastern Texas…
High fire activity seen throughout central and southeast CONUS but due
to cloud coverage, not many smoke plumes were visible. Most of the smoke
plumes seen were mainly in eastern Texas, heading north.


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.

Rodriguez


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.