Monday, March 30, 2026

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1500Z March 30, 2026

SMOKE:
Central CONUS…
Scattered agricultural burning was observed from southern Wisconsin to
eastern Oklahoma. From this activity (mainly in Missouri and Iowa),
a couple light smoke plumes were observed extending off toward the
northeast.

Carolinas…
Isolated fire activity was noted across north and South Carolina, with
a few light smoke plumes noted moving northeastward across western North
Carolina and moving northwestward over southeastern South Carolina.

Central Florida & Eastern Texas/Lower-Mid Mississippi Valley…
In these areas, isolated to scattered fire activity was analyzed. However,
no smoke was able to be analyzed due to broken cloud cover or overcast
conditions across these locations.

AEROSOL/SMOKE:
Central and coastal Mexico/Pacific Ocean/Cuba...
Smoke from fire activity, remnant smoke from previous days, and aerosol
emissions from gas flaring and other industrial activities in central
and southern Mexico, as well as from Cuba, have spread into layer of
light density smoke that was seen extending from Cuba to the western
Gulf and Bay of Campeche just clipping the northern end of the Yucatan
Peninsula. The layer then extends south across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
and spreading along the western and southern coast of Mexico before
dispersing westward into the Pacific.

Hosley


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.