DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1600Z February 24, 2026
SMOKE: Southern United States… Widespread fire activity this morning produced a significant number of smoke plumes throughout southern CONUS. Plumes of light-density smoke were observed across Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana. Smoke traveled primarily in a southern direction where it merged with a larger area of smoke over the Gulf. The larger area of smoke may also consist of smoke remnants from yesterday’s fires in the region. Florida… Agricultural fires south of Lake Okeechobee produced multiple light-density smoke plumes, some of which extended south within the state and toward the straits of Florida. AEROSOL/SMOKE: Mexico/Gulf of America/Pacific Ocean... Smoke from widespread 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, concentrated into a layer of light-density smoke that extended across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the northeastern coast of Mexico. The smoke plume was also observed on the western and southern coasts, extending west 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