Thursday, June 11, 2026

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0000Z June 12, 2026

Corrected to include SAHARAN DUST section...

SMOKE:
Quebec/Maritime Provinces…
An area of remnant light-density smoke was observed over southern Quebec,
drifting eastward across northern Maine, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia,
and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Southeastern CONUS/Mid-Atlantic/Southern New England…
An area of light smoke was observed across much of the southeastern CONUS,
coastal Mid-Atlantic, and southern New England extending offshore over the
Atlantic Ocean behind a cyclone centered south of Nova Scotia. The layer
is likely the result of agricultural burning across the southeastern
CONUS coupled with, perhaps, some of the remnant smoke from Central
Canada over the past week. Another small area was observed out over the
North Atlantic as well.

Nebraska…
A wildfire in northwestern Nebraska was observed producing
moderate-to-heavy smoke  moving southeastward in the wake of a cold
frontal passage. Another area of remnant smoke associated with the cold
front was also analyzed from Texas to Iowa.

New Mexico…
The Bear Fire in western New Mexico was observed producing light to
moderate smoke early this afternoon before invigorating and producing
a thick smoke plume that was extending eastward.

Western and southern Mexico/Pacific…
Light density remnant smoke continued to be observed across Baja
California, the Gulf of California, western Mexico, and the near-shore
Pacific Ocean. The remnant smoke is likely the result of fire activity
across southwestern Mexico, concentrated along coastal Michoacan and
Guerrero from previous days. Active emissions were also seen producing
a lighter smoke layer across those States of Mexico.

SAHARAN DUST…
Saharan dust was observed extending westward across the Atlantic Ocean
and the northern Caribbean Islands, reaching as far west as the Bay
of Campeche.


Hosley/Marrs


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.