DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z March 30, 2026
SMOKE: Central CONUS/Midwestern CONUS… Widespread agricultural burning continued from southern Wisconsin to eastern Oklahoma this evening. In Arkansas, two large fires located in Scott and Montgomery Counties produced moderate-to-heavy density smoke that extended north and covered the northwestern portion of the state. In central Missouri, multiple individual light-density smoke plumes were observed traveling northeast. Scattered smoke plumes from agricultural fires were also observed in southwestern Indiana this evening. Eastern Texas... Fires located in eastern Texas produced primarily light-to-moderate density smoke that encompassed the northern portion of the state this evening. One particular fire located in San Augustine County produced a plume of heavy-density smoke that continued north into neighboring counties. Carolinas… Scattered agricultural fires produced individual light-density smoke plumes across South Carolina and western North Carolina. Cuba… Widespread agricultural fires produced individual light-density smoke plumes across Cuba this evening. A large number of plumes located in western Cuba merged into a larger area of light-density smoke that continued west into the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of America. An area of light-density smoke in central and eastern Cuba was visible among the intermittent cloud cover. AEROSOL/SMOKE: Mexico/Gulf of America/Central America/Pacific Ocean 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 southern Gulf of America, across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and along the southern coasts of Central America and Mexico. Smoke extended along the northwest Mexican coast, reaching Baja California Sur, before continuing southwestward 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