DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0120Z March 15, 2026
SMOKE: Southern-Central U.S./Mississippi Valleys/Southeastern U.S./Atlantic Ocean... Widespread agricultural burning and fire activity were observed across the southern Plains (eastern Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas), the mid- and lower Mississippi Valley, and the southeastern United States. Smoke with the heaviest density was concentrated in the southeastern and Midwest U.S., as well as eastern Texas. A large area of light-density smoke spread across the southern-central U.S., moving east with the weather system, merging with smoke from the Mississippi Valley and southeastern U.S., and eventually moving offshore to the Atlantic Ocean. Honduras/Nicaragua... Scattered fire activity in eastern Honduras and northeastern Nicaragua were observed, producing mostly light-density smoke that moved westward. AEROSOL/SMOKE: Mexico/Central America... Smoke from fire activity, remnant smoke from previous days, and aerosol emissions from gas flaring and other industrial activities in central and southern Mexico spread as a layer of light density smoke that extended from the southwestern Gulf of America westward over the Pacific. YL 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