DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0000Z February 27, 2026
SMOKE: Cuba… Fires persisted across Cuba, producing areas of light-density smoke drifting northwest into the Gulf, north towards the Florida Keys, and southwest into the Caribbean. Costa Rica… Fires located in western Costa Rica were observed generating light-to-moderate density smoke plumes drifting westward into the Pacific. Central United States… Fires were active throughout the Central United States this evening, producing numerous smoke plumes across the region. In eastern Kansas and central Missouri, several fires were observed generating light-density smoke plumes drifting towards the east. In Arkansas, multiple fires were observed producing moderate-to-heavy density smoke plumes that dispersed towards the southeast, affecting much of the northwestern and west-central portions of the state. In eastern Oklahoma, multiple individual plumes of light-to-moderate density smoke were observed drifting southward towards northeastern Texas and southeastward towards western Arkansas. In Kiowa County, Kansas, a fire was observed generating a moderate-to-heavy smoke plume drifting towards the southeast, reaching north-central Oklahoma. 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 dispersed into the western Gulf. Smoke extended along the western and southern coasts of Mexico and Central America, continuing west into the Pacific Ocean. 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