DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1500Z July 19, 2026
SMOKE: Canada... Wildfires in the central Northwest Territories, south-central Ontario, and central Saskatchewan and Manitoba continued to burn this morning, producing vigorous medium-to-heavy density smoke plumes that embedded in the jet stream and contributed to a larger area of light-to-medium density smoke. This plume covered most of Canada, extending from the Northwest Territories and British Columbia as far east as Ontario before continuing southeastward into CONUS and the Atlantic Ocean. CONUS/Atlantic Ocean... A layer of moderate-to-heavy density smoke from wildfires in Canada stretched across the upper Midwest and the Great Lakes region. A large area of light-density smoke, sourced primarily from fires in the Pacific Northwest and Canada, continued across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern CONUS, eventually reaching a remnant layer of moderate-to-heavy smoke in the central Atlantic Ocean. Pacific Northwest... Numerous wildfires located in central Oregon, eastern Washington, and southern British Columbia were observed producing moderate-to-heavy density smoke this morning, which drifted northeastward and merged with the broader layer of smoke from northern Canada. Mexico/Central America/Gulf of America... A regional layer of light-density smoke from fire activity and remnant smoke from previous days was observed in southern Mexico, spanning over the western Gulf of America, the Yucatan Peninsula, and portions of Central America. The smoke also extended southward across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec into the Pacific Ocean. 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 map: https://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