Saturday, May 30, 2026

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z May 30, 2026

SMOKE:
Canada…
Isolated fires in Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories were
observed producing plumes of moderate-to-heavy density smoke drifting
north to east. A large area of remnant light-density smoke was observed
stretching from the Northwest Territories to the Great Lakes and drifting
southeastward into Michigan and off the coast of Virginia. An area of
moderate-density smoke was observed in eastern Manitoba and northwestern
Ontario.

Southwestern U.S…
Isolated fires in California, Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico were
observed producing light-to-moderate density smoke generally drifting
northeastward.

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 central Gulf of America
into the far southern United States. Areas of moderate-density smoke
were observed along coastal south-western Mexico and the south-central
Gulf of America.

Monaghan

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.