DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1500Z March 19, 2026

SMOKE:
Southeast CONUS/Midwest/Oklahoma …
Fires were active this morning across the Midwest and southeastern
CONUS. An area of light-density smoke was observed moving across the
lower Midwest, where it merged with smoke from the Southeast. The combined
smoke plume continued moving southeastward toward Florida, though cloud
cover obscured portions of the area and prevented full assessment of
the plume’s extent. Another area of smoke was observed off the coast
of Louisiana, extending southwestward into the Gulf from fires near the
Florida-Georgia state line. The smoke may also consist of smoke remnants
from yesterday’s fires in the Midwest and Southeast regions.

Additionally, the Buck Creek Fire in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, continued
to burn this morning and was observed producing heavy to moderate smoke
that remained localized within the county. The smoke then transitioned
to light density, moving northward before dispersing eastward across
the Oklahoma-Arkansas state line.


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.


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

Unless otherwise indicated:

Areas of smoke are analyzed using GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST Visible satellite imagery.

Only a general description of areas of smoke or significant smoke plumes will be analyzed.

A quantitative assessment of the density/amount of particulate or the vertical distribution is not included.

Widespread cloudiness may prevent the detection of smoke even from significant fires.