DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1500Z September 13, 2026
SMOKE: Canada... A regional layer of light-to-moderate density smoke was observed stretching from Nunavut southeastward into northern Labrador and eastward across the Davis Strait and into Greenland. Some light-density smoke from this layer continued southward across Labrador and Quebec, merging with the broad layer of light-density smoke from CONUS before drifting into the Atlantic Ocean. Pacific Northwest... A layer of remnant light-density smoke from yesterday’s fire activity in the region was observed extending from Washington northwestward into British Columbia before drifting southwestward into the Pacific Ocean. CONUS... A broad layer of remnant light-density smoke from yesterday’s fire activity extended from the Central Plains and Midwestern U.S. eastward into the Atlantic Ocean and northeastward into Ontario before drifting southward into Texas and the Lower Mississippi Valley, ultimately merging with smoke from Mexico. Mexico... A layer of light density smoke from fires, industrial activity, and smoke from CONUS was observed over the Mexican Gulf Coast, extending eastward into the Gulf of, southward over the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and westward towards the Mexican Pacific Coast before drifting into the Pacific Ocean. A layer of medium-density smoke was observed drifting southward from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec into the Pacific Ocean. BLOWING DUST: Caribbean... Light density blowing dust from the Sahara Desert was observed drifting westward over the Caribbean Sea towards Central America. A layer of moderate density dust was concentrated south of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. GM 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