DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1500Z August 17, 2026
SMOKE: Canada… Wildfires in the central Northwest Territories continued to burn this evening, producing moderate-to-heavy density smoke that moved northwestward towards Yukon and southeast into northern Alberta. Wildfires in southern British Columbia produced a broad area of heavy-density smoke, which dispersed into moderate-density smoke as it spread in multiple directions. This smoke extended eastward into Alberta, westward over the Pacific Ocean, and southwestward into CONUS across Washington and Oregon. Remnant smoke from yesterday’s fires lingered over Manitoba, with moderate-to-heavy density smoke extending northeastward from Manitoba into northern Nunavut and the Hudson Bay. A concentrated area of heavy-density remnant smoke lingered over the Newfoundland coast, moving slowly into the Atlantic Ocean and northeastward toward Greenland. A broad layer of light-density smoke covered nearly all of Canada before merging with smoke from CONUS. CONUS/Pacific Ocean/Atlantic Ocean… Wildfires across the Pacific Northwest continued to produce moderate-to-heavy density smoke, which moved northward into British Columbia where it merged with smoke produced by wildfires in the region. A regional layer of medium-density smoke extended westward into the Pacific Ocean and southward into Oregon, before turning northeastward and extending further into the Northern and Central Plains. A large layer of light-density smoke covered much of CONUS, including the Pacific Northwest, the Great Plains, and all of eastern CONUS before merging with light smoke from Canada and Mexico and continuing into the Atlantic Ocean. Southeastern U.S.… Isolated fires in Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Texas were observed producing light-density smoke plumes generally drifting southward to eastward. Mexico/Gulf of America… A layer of light-density smoke from fires and industrial activity was observed across parts of central Mexico, the Bay of Campeche, and the western Gulf of America. Remnant light-density smoke from Canada and CONUS extended southward into northeastern Mexico. A medium-density plume was observed over the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, which merged with light smoke and continued southwestward into the Pacific Ocean. Cuba… Fires were active across central and eastern Cuba, producing individual light-to-moderate density smoke plumes. BLOWING DUST: Lesser Antilles… A layer of light Saharan dust was observed traveling across the Atlantic Ocean this evening, reaching parts of the Lesser Antilles. 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 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