DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z August 20, 2026
SMOKE: Canada… Wildfires in the Northwest Territories continued to burn today, producing localized moderate-to-heavy density smoke that moved southeastward over Alberta and Saskatchewan and eastward into Nunavut. Wildfires in southern British Columbia produced localized moderate-to-heavy density smoke, which dispersed into moderate-density smoke as it spread eastward across southern Canada and southeastward into CONUS. 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 Central Plains and Midwestern U.S. and northward into British Columbia to join with moderate-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 eastward into the Atlantic Ocean, westward into the Pacific Ocean, northward to join with light-density smoke over Canada, and southward to join with smoke over Mexico. Yukon… Despite significant cloud cover, a wildfire in Yukon was observed producing a moderate-to-heavy density smoke plume extending northward. Western CONUS… In addition to the wildfires in the Pacific Northwest, fires in Idaho, California, Montana, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona were observed producing individual smoke plumes ranging in various densities generally drifting northward and eastward, with some contributing to the broader layer of light smoke in the region. Southeastern CONUS… Isolated fires in the Lower Mississippi Valley were observed producing light-to-moderate density smoke plumes drifting towards the east, while fires in Georgia and Alabama produced light-density smoke plumes drifting north-northeastward. 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 Cuba. This smoke drifted westward over the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and into the Pacific Ocean. A light-to-moderate density smoke plume from a fire in Tamaulipas was also observed drifting northward towards the United States-Mexico border. Cuba… Isolated fires in Cuba were observed producing light-density smoke plumes drifting southwestward 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