DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1600Z February 20, 2026
SMOKE: Southern U.S… Light smoke from previous day agricultural in fires in the Great Plains and Mississippi Valley could be seen from southeastern Texas, to Louisiana, central-southern Mississippi and Alabama, and central Georgia. The smoke mixed with another large plume extending across the Gulf of America consisting of aerosols and smoke originating from fires and industrial activity in Mexico and Central America. Southern Florida… Agricultural fires located south of Lake Okeechobee were observed producing an area of light-to-moderate density smoke dispersing north over northeastern Glades County and northwestern Palm Beach County. Cuba… Scattered fires persisted across western and eastern Cuba this morning, with remnant light-density smoke extending northwest towards the Florida Keys and south into the Caribbean Sea. AEROSOL/SMOKE: Mexico/Gulf of America/Pacific Ocean... Light smoke from fire activity across central and southern Mexico mixed with aerosol emissions from gas flaring and other industrial activities in southern Mexico and Bay of Campeche creating a large plume over central-southern Mexico, which extended southwestward over the Pacific Ocean and northward over the Gulf of America. WS 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