DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z May 22, 2026
SMOKE: New Mexico… The Seven Cabins Fire, located in Lincoln County, New Mexico, continued to burn this evening. A plume of light-to-heavy density smoke was observed moving to the northeast. The full northeastward extent is uncertain due to obstruction by cloud cover. Northwest Territories… A fire located in the southern Northwest Territories was observed generating a light-to-moderate density smoke plume drifting towards the northeast before being obscured by the clouds. Southern Florida… Despite significant cloud coverage over eastern CONUS, a fire located in southern Florida was observed producing a light-to-moderate density smoke plume extending northward. Pacific Northwest… A fire in southeastern Washington was observed producing a localized light-density smoke this evening, while a fire in east-central Oregon generated a light-to-moderate density smoke plume extending 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-to-heavy density smoke were also observed in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec extending northward into the Gulf of America, the Yucatan Peninsula extending northwestward into the Gulf of America, and Honduras extending northward into the Gulf of Honduras. 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