DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z March 28, 2026
SMOKE: Kansas/Oklahoma… A cluster of fires in southeastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma were observed producing individual smoke plumes that coalesced into a large area of light-to-heavy density smoke drifting northward across eastern Kansas. It appears to make its way towards eastern Nebraska in the coming hours. Other individual light-density smoke plumes located throughout eastern Oklahoma and Kansas were also seen drifting towards the north. Arkansas/Missouri… Individual light-density smoke plumes produced by fires in northeastern Arkansas and southern Missouri were observed coalescing into a larger area of light-density smoke drifting towards the west. Scattered fires in southern Missouri were also seen producing individual light-density smoke plumes drifting towards the north. Iowa… Despite significant cloud coverage in the region, a fire located in western Iowa appeared to produce a light-to-moderate density smoke plume traveling towards the northeast. Southeastern CONUS… Agricultural fires in the Southeastern United States were observed producing light-to-moderate density smoke plumes drifting towards the southwest, mixing with a larger area of remnant smoke from yesterday’s fire activity as it extended southward into the Gulf. Cuba… Fires in Cuba were observed generating areas of light-density smoke drifting southwestward into the Caribbean Sea. AEROSOL/SMOKE: Southeastern U.S./Atlantic Ocean/Gulf of America/Mexico/Tropical Eastern Pacific... 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 into a layer of light-density smoke that extended from the Bay of Campeche, across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and along the western and southern coast of Mexico before dispersing into the Pacific. GL 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