DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1500Z May 1, 2026
SMOKE: Cuba… Fires in western Cuba were observed this morning, producing a few individual light-density smoke plumes traveling north. Southern Florida… Agricultural fires located south of Lake Okeechobee were observed generating individual light-density smoke plumes drifting northeast towards the Atlantic. SMOKE/AEROSOL: Mexico/Pacific Ocean/Gulf of America/Central America/Gulf Coast of CONUS… Smoke from fire activity across southern Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, and Central America, 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 extended north, encompassing the Gulf of America and continuing into the U.S. Gulf Coast. Light-density smoke also extended across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and east into Central America, before drifting southwest into the Pacific off the southern coasts of Mexico and Central America. GL 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