DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1500Z April 18, 2026
SMOKE: Southeastern CONUS… Agricultural fires were active across much of the southeastern CONUS this morning; however, no significant areas of smoke could be seen via satellite imagery due to cloud cover moving from the southwest into the eastern and southeastern regions. Cuba… Two large wildfires continued to burn in the province of Pinar del Rio this morning and was observed producing a light-to-moderate density smoke plume. The smoke traveled west into the Yucatan channel before moving south toward the Caribbean Sea. 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 across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and into the western Gulf of America. The smoke was also observed moving southwestward into the Pacific Ocean off the southern coasts of Mexico and Central America. Hernandez 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