DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1600Z February 23, 2026
SMOKE: Southern United States… Fires were active across the southeastern CONUS this morning. South of Lake Okeechobee, individual fires produced light-density smoke plumes that moved south and southeast within the state. Numerous fires were observed across southern Mississippi and southern Louisiana, with some producing light-to-moderate density smoke that moved south into the Gulf. In central Alabama, several fires generated light-density smoke. In contrast, a fire in northern Escambia County, Alabama, produced heavy-to-moderate density smoke that gradually transitioned to light-density as it moved south across Florida and into the Gulf. Within the Ouachita National Forest along the Scott and Polk County border in Arkansas, a fire produced heavy-to-moderate density smoke that dispersed southward, transitioning to light-density smoke as it extended into Lafayette and Miller Counties. Cuba… Fire activity persisted across Cuba this morning, with an a few fires producing light-density smoke that drifted south into the Caribbean Sea. AEROSOL/SMOKE: Mexico/Gulf of America/Pacific Ocean... Scattered fire activity was present in portions of Mexico this morning. Moderate-density smoke was observed offshore of the western and southern coasts of Mexican states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, and Michoacan, extending west into the Pacific Ocean before dispersing into light-density smoke. Light-density smoke was also observed on the eastern coast of Mexico, moving southeast within the Gulf before extending across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. In this region, it mixed with areas of moderate-density smoke. The combined smoke the moved southward before turning southwest and dispersing farther into the Pacific Ocean. Hernandez 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