DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z August 17, 2026
SMOKE: Canada… Wildfires in the Northwest Territories continued to burn this evening, producing localized heavy-density smoke, as well as a more extensive region of moderate-density smoke that moved southeastward across much of southern Canada and southward to join with moderate-density smoke over CONUS. Wildfires in southern British Columbia produced localized heavy-density smoke, which dispersed into moderate-density smoke as it spread eastward across southern Canada and southward into CONUS. Remnant smoke from yesterday’s fires lingered as a region of moderate-density smoke extending eastward from Alberta to northern Nunavut before drifting southeastward over Labrador, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and the Labrador Sea. 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 localized heavy-density smoke. A regional layer of medium-density smoke extended eastward over the Northern and Central Plains and northward into British Columbia to join with medium-density smoke in southern Canada. A region of heavy-to-medium density smoke was also observed over the Great Plains and Midwest, ultimately drifting southeastward over northern Mississippi and Alabama. A large layer of light-density smoke covered much of CONUS, including the Pacific Northwest, the Great Plains, and much of eastern CONUS. This smoke drifted northward to join with light-density smoke over Canada, as well as southwestward to join with smoke over Mexico. Southwestern U.S.… The Shoshone Fire in Nevada was observed producing a localized heavy-density smoke, as well as moderate-to-light density smoke that drifted northeast. The Frijoles Fire in New Mexico was observed producing localized heavy-to-moderate density smoke. Southeastern U.S.… Isolated fires in Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas were observed producing light-to-moderate 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, ultimately reaching western Cuba. This smoke drifted also drifted westward over the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and into the Pacific Ocean. Cuba… Fires were active across central Cuba, producing individual light-to-heavy density smoke plumes. Light-density smoke drifting from Mexico was observed covering western Cuba. 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. 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 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