DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z March 17, 2026
SMOKE: Southeastern CONUS… Agricultural fires were active across Southeastern CONUS this evening. Multiple fires along the border of Alabama and Florida produced individual light-density smoke plumes. A particularly large fire located in Escambia County, Alabama, produced medium-to-heavy density smoke that traveled south across the Florida Panhandle and into the Gulf of America. Light-density smoke from fires in southwestern Georgia was also present. Lower Mississippi Valley… Scattered fires located in Louisiana and Mississippi produced primarily light-density smoke plumes. Significant fire activity in western Arkansas produced moderate-to-heavy density smoke plumes that merged into larger plumes, traveling east-northeast across the state. Southern Plains… Scattered fires located in Oklahoma and eastern Texas produced light-density smoke plumes. Some fires on the Texan coast extended into the Gulf of America. 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 eastern El Salvador and Guatemala to the west-central Pacific coast of Mexico, continuing further westward into the Pacific. Fires in Jalisco and Nayarit persisted this evening, producing a discernible area of light-density smoke that dispersed into the Pacific Ocean. Gaskill 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