DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0000Z February 21, 2026
SMOKE: Missouri/Illinois/Arkansas… Fires located in southern Missouri, southern Illinois, and northern Arkansas were observed producing individual plumes ranging from light to heavy density smoke, with the majority drifting towards the east and southeast. Oklahoma… Individual smoke plumes located in north-central and eastern Oklahoma were observed drifting towards the west and southwest. South Carolina… Fires in western South Carolina were seen producing light-to-moderate density smoke plumes moving towards the east. Southern Florida… Agricultural fires located south of Lake Okeechobee were observed producing an area of light-density smoke dispersing northeast into the Atlantic. Cuba… Scattered agricultural fires persisted across western and eastern Cuba this evening, with areas of light-density smoke and residual emissions extending northwest towards the eastern Gulf and northeast into the Atlantic. AEROSOL/SMOKE: Mexico/Gulf of America/Mississippi Valley/Pacific Ocean... Smoke from scattered fire activity and remnant smoke from previous days, as well as aerosol emissions from gas flaring and other industrial activities in southern Mexico and Bay of Campeche, concentrated into a layer of light-density smoke that extended across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and northern Guatemala before drifting southwestward over the Pacific Ocean. Smoke was also observed extending across the western Gulf as it drifted northward along the Mexican Coastal Plain, eventually merging with an area of light-density smoke produced by agricultural fires in the Mississippi Valley. 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