Thursday, May 28, 2026

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0000Z May 29, 2026

SMOKE:
Canada/Midwestern CONUS…
Active wildfire activity was observed across central Saskatchewan and the
Northwest Territories-Alberta Border region producing thick smoke. From
these fires, the smoke was observed moving east-northeast. A few other
smaller fires from southern Manitoba into far northern Wisconsin were
observed producing mainly light to moderate smoke, with perhaps heavy
smoke also noted with one fire in northeastern Minnesota. In addition
to the active emissions, remnant smoke was observed across much of the
southern tier of Canadian Provinces and the Great Lakes states.

Mid Atlantic/North Atlantic…
An area of light remnant smoke was seen over the Mid-Atlantic extending
eastward across the North Atlantic. The parent activity is likely the
wildfire activity in Canada with some contribution from fire activity
across the southeastern CONUS.

Oregon/California/near-shore Pacific…
An area of light smoke was observed swirling around a low pressure area
just offshore of Monterey Bay. The smoke was light, with the leading
edge having completely wrapped around the circulation.

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 and
Central America. The smoke extended southwest into the Pacific Ocean,
east into western Guatemala, and north across the west-central Gulf of
America towards the southern United States. Individual fires in western
Jalisco also produced an area of light-to-heavy density smoke, eventually
mixing with the broader layer of light-density smoke.

BLOWING DUST:
West-Central Idaho…
Blowing dust was observed through breaks in clouds very near Boise this
afternoon. The dust was observed moving NNE into the more mountainous
terrain across Boise National Forest.

Caribbean…
Saharan Dust was observed spanning the Atlantic and Caribbean. The
thickest dust was seen extending westward from the African coast to near
the Windward Islands.

Hosley

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

 


Unless otherwise indicated:
  • Areas of smoke are analyzed using GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST Visible satellite imagery.
  • Only a general description of areas of smoke or significant smoke plumes will be analyzed.
  • A quantitative assessment of the density/amount of particulate or the vertical distribution is not included.
  • Widespread cloudiness may prevent the detection of smoke even from significant fires.