DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1500Z May 22, 2026
SMOKE: New Mexico… The Seven Cabins Fire, located in Lincoln County, New Mexico, continued to burn this morning. A plume of light-to-moderate smoke was observed moving to the east-southeast. SMOKE/AEROSOL: Mexico/Pacific Ocean/Gulf of America/Central America... Fire activity, aerosol emissions from gas flaring and other industrial activities, and remnant smoke from previous days contributed to a widespread layer of light density smoke and aerosols across Mexico, northern Central America, the Gulf of America, and parts of southern CONUS. Light-density smoke was observed across southern Mexico, Central America, and the Gulf of Honduras before continuing southwestward into the Pacific. Areas of moderate-density smoke were also observed in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec extending northward into the Gulf of America, areas south and west of Mexico City, and Honduras extending northwestward into the Gulf of Honduras and Guatemala. DUST: Many areas of blowing dust was observed along Baja California dispersing eastward into the Gulf of California and to the south into the Pacific Ocean. GM 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