DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z March 31, 2026
SMOKE: Central CONUS/Midwestern CONUS/Southeastern CONUS… Fires were active across the Midwest as well as the central and southeastern United States this evening; however persistent cloud coverage limited detection of smoke. In the southeast, a few smoke plumes were observed across Alabama and Georgia, which merged into a larger area of very light-density smoke over southwestern Georgia. Fires located in eastern Georgia produced individual light-density smoke that merged into a larger plume and continued northeast into South Carolina. Southern Florida… Smoke from agricultural fires located south of Lake Okeechobee was observed earlier today. This evening, a localized area of light-density smoke from these fires was observed through the clouds traveling west into the Gulf of America. Cuba… Agricultural fires located in central Cuba produced a regional plume of light-density smoke that traveled southwest into the Caribbean Sea. A cluster of fires located in Isla de la Juventud produced smoke that traveled due west. 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 across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec into the western Gulf of America, reaching the coastlines of Texas and western Louisiana. Smoke also extended along the southern coasts of Central America and Mexico, continuing along the northwestern Mexican coast, eventually reaching Baja California Sur and the Gulf of California 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