Tuesday, June 16, 2026

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1500Z June 16, 2026

SMOKE:
Southern Plains/Mississippi Valley/Ohio Valley…
An area of remnant smoke was observed extending from Texas, across the
Mississippi Valley to West Virginia, and as far north as Kansas.

Saskatchewan/Manitoba/Northwest Territories/Nunavut…
Multiple wildfires in north-central Saskatchewan produced individual
light-to-medium density smoke plumes, which dispersed locally before
moving southwest within the territory. A larger remnant light-density
smoke plume was observed extending southeast into Manitoba. An area of
remnant light-density smoke was observed over the Northwest Territories
and southwestern Nunavut.

Arizona/Southern Nevada/California/New Mexico…
The Dellenbaugh Fire in northwestern Arizona was observed producing
an area of moderate-to-heavy smoke, which was observed dispersing
southwestward into Nevada and southern California. Light-density smoke
also continued across central Arizona. A nearby individual plume of
light-to-moderate density smoke originating in New Mexico was observed
extending south across western New Mexico.

Western and southern Mexico/Pacific Ocean/Gulf of America…
An area of light-density smoke consisting of remnant smoke from previous
days and smoke from fire activity was observed in the Gulf of California,
across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and extending northward into the
western Gulf of America. The smoke also extended across southern Mexico,
before drifting west into the Pacific Ocean.


Marrs/Gaskill


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.