DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z August 18, 2026
SMOKE: Canada… Wildfires in the Northwest Territories continued to burn this evening, producing localized heavy-density smoke, as well as an extensive region of moderate-density smoke that moved eastward over Nunavut. Wildfires in southern British Columbia produced localized heavy-density smoke, which dispersed into moderate-density smoke as it spread eastward across southern Canada and southeastward into CONUS. Remnant smoke from yesterday’s fire activity lingered as a region of moderate-density smoke extending southeastward from the southern Northwest Territories to southern Manitoba before drifting eastward into the Midwestern U.S. and central Ontario, eventually joining with light-density smoke over CONUS. Other regions of remnant moderate-density smoke were observed in northern Labrador, Newfoundland, and the Labrador Sea extending past Greenland into the open north Atlantic Ocean. 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 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 southwestward into the Pacific Ocean, eastward into the Atlantic Ocean, northward to join with light-density smoke over Canada, and southwestward to join with smoke over Mexico. Southwestern U.S.… Isolated fires in New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and California were observed producing localized smoke ranging in various densities. Light-to-moderate smoke from the Frijoles Fire in New Mexico was observed extending eastward within the state, while the MP18 Fire in northern California produced light-to-moderate density smoke extending southward into the Pacific Ocean. Southeastern U.S.… Isolated fires across the Southeastern U.S. were observed producing light-to-moderate density smoke plumes generally drifting southeastward. 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 and central Gulf, ultimately reaching western Cuba. This smoke drifted also drifted westward over the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and into the Pacific Ocean. Cuba… Isolated fires in Cuba were observed producing light-density smoke plumes drifting southwestward into the Caribbean Sea. BLOWING DUST: Lesser Antilles… A layer of light Saharan dust was observed traveling across the Atlantic Ocean this evening, extending across the Lesser Antilles into the Caribbean Sea. GL 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