DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1600Z February 21, 2026
SMOKE: Southern Florida… Agricultural fires located south of Lake Okeechobee were observed producing an area of light-density smoke headed northwest toward central Florida. Southeast CONUS… No additional smoke plumes were observed in the southeastern United States this morning due to significant cloud cover across the region. Oklahoma… Scattered smoke plumes located in south-central and eastern Oklahoma were observed drifting south. Cuba… Remnant smoke from yesterday’s fires persisted across western and eastern Cuba this morning, with areas of light-density smoke traveling offshore towards southern Cuba. Smoke in eastern Cuba extended further offshore, reaching the Haitian mainland. Smoke in western Cuba extended north into the Gulf of America, reaching southwestern Florida. AEROSOL/SMOKE: Mexico/Gulf of America/Mississippi Valley/Southern Plains/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 central and 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 in this region also extended further north across the western and central portions of the Gulf, reaching the U.S mainland and encompassing most of Louisiana, southwest Mississippi, and southern Texas. 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