DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1555Z March 18, 2026
SMOKE: CONUS... A light-density remnant smoke plume from previous days’ fire activity in the southeastern U.S. was observed over the central Gulf of America, moving westward. Other than that, no significant areas of smoke or blowing dust were seen in satellite imagery this morning due to extensive cloud cover over the CONUS. 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. Significant cloud cover over the Bay of Campeche and southwestern Gulf of America limited additional detection of smoke/aerosol over this region this morning. 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