Friday, September 11, 2026

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z September 11, 2026

SMOKE:
Canada…
A regional layer of light-density smoke was observed stretching from
central southern Canada eastward over Nova Scotia and northeastward over
Hudson Bay and into the Labrador Sea. An area of moderate density smoke
was observed over the Hudson Strait and extending southward into parts
of Quebec and Ontario.

Pacific Northwest…
Isolated fires in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia were
observed producing locally light to heavy density smoke plumes.

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. Light density smoke from Canada crossed over the Great
Lakes and into the Midwest. A broad area of moderate density smoke was
observed off the mid-Atlantic coast and extending in southeastern Virginia
and northeastern North Carolina and southward from Canada into Maine.

California…
The Lucas Fire was observed producing moderate to heavy density smoke
that drifted eastward before dissipating over central Nevada.

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, Baja California, and the Pacific Ocean. A layer of
medium-density smoke was observed over the Bay of Campeche and Isthmus
of Tehuantepec, sourced from today’s industrial activity.

BLOWING DUST:
Caribbean...
Moderate density blowing dust from the Sahara Desert was observed lofting
over the Atlantic Ocean north of the Lesser Antilles, while light density
dust drifted westward as far as Cuba.

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

 


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.