DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z April 21, 2026
SMOKE: Upper Midwest… Agricultural fires were active across much of the southeastern CONUS and Midwest; however, a notable concentration of active fires was observed in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. Some of these fires were producing light-density smoke that drifted southeast and east. Georgia/Florida… The Pineland Road wildfire in southern Georgia continued to burn throughout the evening. Thick smoke was observed emanating from the wildfire, with some contributions also seen from some smaller fires that were active in South Carolina, southern Georgia, and western Florida. The smoke from the Pineland Road wildfire was seen extending west over the northern Gulf of America. Agricultural burning south of Lake Okeechobee was observed producing heavy and moderate smoke that moved west-southwest into the Gulf. SMOKE/AEROSOL: Mexico/Pacific Ocean/Guatemalan Coast/Southwestern Gulf of America… 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/aerosol that was blanketing an area covering much of southern Mexico, the southern Gulf of America, and southwestward into the Pacific Ocean. 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