Wednesday, September 9, 2026

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z September 9, 2026

SMOKE:
Canada...
Due to significant cloud cover this evening, no individual smoke plumes
were observed in Canada. However, a regional layer of remnant light
density smoke was observed moving southward from central Nunavut into
Saskatchewan and Manitoba, continuing into north central CONUS. Light
smoke also moved eastward with the cloud column over the Hudson Bay and
the Northwestern Passages, likely merging with cross-polar transport
smoke over Baffin Bay and continuing over Greenland and the North
Atlantic Ocean.  A layer of remnant moderate density smoke was observed
extending from Newfoundland and Labrador into the Labrador Sea, as well
as southern Greenland.

California…
The Plaskett fire continued to burn this evening, producing moderate to
heavy density smoke that extended westward into the Pacific Ocean.

Idaho…
A large area of smoke was observed in west-central Idaho from fires that
ignited today. Plumes ranged from light to heavy density, eventually
merging together and traveling eastward across the state.

Mississippi Valley/Southeastern CONUS…
Fires were active today across the Middle and Lower Mississippi Valley,
with the highest concentration of smoke located in Arkansas. Numerous
individual plumes ranging from light to heavy density smoke were observed,
primarily traveling northward and northeastward. Scattered individual
smoke plumes from agricultural fires were also observed across the
Southeast this evening.

CONUS…
A broad layer of light-density smoke extended from the Ohio and
Mississippi Valley into the Atlantic Ocean and back into the the Southeast
before continuing into Texas and the Gulf Coast, ultimately merging with
smoke from Mexico.

Wyoming...
The Moonshine Fire in southeastern Wyoming was observed producing moderate
to heavy density smoke drifting northwestward.

Mexico...
A layer of light-density smoke from fires, industrial activity, and smoke
from CONUS was observed over the western Gulf of America, Bay of Campeche,
Gulf of California, and Pacific Ocean.

BLOWING DUST:
Caribbean...
Dust from the Sahara Desert was observed lofting over the Atlantic Ocean
this morning, drifting westward as far as the eastern Dominican Republic.

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

 


Unless otherwise indicated:
  • Areas of smoke are analyzed using GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST Visible satellite imagery.
  • Only a general description of areas of smoke or significant smoke plumes will be analyzed.
  • A quantitative assessment of the density/amount of particulate or the vertical distribution is not included.
  • Widespread cloudiness may prevent the detection of smoke even from significant fires.