DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0000Z February 22, 2026
SMOKE: Southern Florida… Agricultural fires located south of Lake Okeechobee were observed producing an area of light-density smoke drifting east into the Atlantic. Missouri/Arkansas/Oklahoma… Scattered fire activity across Missouri, Arkansas, and eastern Oklahoma were observed generating individual plumes, ranging from light to heavy density smoke, drifting towards the south and southeast. Cuba… Scattered agricultural fires and remnant smoke from previous days persisted across western and central Cuba this evening, with areas of light-density smoke extending northwest into the eastern portion of the Gulf, north towards the Florida Keys, and south into the Caribbean Sea. 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 Southeastern United States and mixing with light-density smoke from fires in southeastern Texas, southern Louisiana, and southern Mississippi. 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