DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1500Z April 15, 2026
SMOKE: Southeast CONUS/Mid-Atlantic… Remnant smoke from burning activity observed yesterday was observed blanketing an area extending from the Mid-Mississippi Valley to the Southeastern CONUS coast and the Mid-Atlantic. A handful of active emissions were also noted from the Florida-Georgia border to western Virginia, with light smoke produced and moving northeastward. Northern and Central Plains… A remnant area of smoke was seen across Nebraska and Iowa this morning, comprising of smoke produced yesterday. The motion of this area has been dictated by a low pressure area over western Nebraska and the associated fronts. There have also been active smoke emissions analyzed across central Kansas, with smoke moving eastward. With cloud cover present across some of these locations, as well as over eastern Kansas, eastern Iowa, and Missouri, there may be some smoke present there as well. Florida… Although widespread burning was detected on satellite imagery, cloud cover moved in off the Atlantic and moved westward over the Florida Peninsula to obscure any smoke production from the areas near Lake Okeechobee. One smoke plume was seen in southwestern Florida that looks to have been actively producing light smoke overnight, with smoke moving westward out over the Gulf of America. Cuba… Wildfires located near the westernmost end of Cuba were still producing light to moderate smoke that could be detected extending westward over the Gulf of America to north of the Yucatan Peninsula. SMOKE/AEROSOL: Mexico/Gulf of America/Pacific Ocean… Smoke from fire activity, remnant smoke from previous days, and aerosol emissions from gas flaring and other industrial activities contributed to a layer of light-density smoke that extended into the western Gulf of America, across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the Guatemalan and Salvadoran Pacific Coasts, and along most of central and southern Mexico before continuing westward over the Pacific. An area of medium-density smoke was observed over the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, where an eddy was acting to concentrate the smoke/aerosol. 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