DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1500Z April 19, 2026
SMOKE: Southeastern CONUS… Scattered agricultural fires were present across southeastern CONUS this morning; however, due to significant cloud cover across into the eastern and southeastern regions, minimal smoke plumes were detected via satellite imagery. A large fire located in Clinch County, Georgia continued to burn this morning, producing a light smoke plume that traveled east-southeast across the Florida state border. Central Plains/Mississippi Valley/Ohio Valley… Remnant activity from yesterday’s fires across the Central Plains was observed as a light-density layer of smoke this morning, traveling from eastern Kansas and Nebraska, across the Middle and Lower Mississippi Valley, and continuing east into the Ohio Valley. Cuba… Two large wildfires continued to burn in the province of Pinar del Rio this morning. Despite significant cloud cover, a plume of light-density smoke was observed traveling west towards 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 across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, into the western Gulf of America, and over the Yucatan Peninsula. Smoke continued southwestward into the Pacific Ocean off the southern coasts of Mexico and Central America. 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