DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0000Z March 1, 2026
SMOKE: Central and Southeastern United States… A larger number of active fires were observed across the central and southeastern United States this evening, with multiple fires producing light-density, individual smoke plumes that moved west before shifting north later in the evening. In Mississippi, a fire within Bienville National Forest was observed producing heavy-to-moderate smoke that moved west. Another fire northwest of Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refugee also produced heavy smoke drifting west within the state. In Arkansas, large fires near Ouachita National Forest, Mount Magazine State Park, Winona Wildlife Management Area, Ozark National Forest, and Gene Rush Wildlife Management Area produced heavy-to-moderate individual smoke plumes during the evening. These plumes later merged into a broader area of heavy-to-moderate smoke that moved northeast toward southeastern Missouri, where it combined with additional smoke from another fire in the region. Fires across the central and southeastern United States merged into a broad area of light-density smoke that extended from Texas and Louisiana northward into Illinois and Indiana. The smoke may also consist of remnants from yesterday’s fires in the region. 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 also extended along the western and southern coasts of Mexico, continuing 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