DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z September 13, 2026
SMOKE: Canada... A regional layer of light-to-moderate density smoke was observed stretching from eastern Nunavut across the Hudson Bay, merging with light-density smoke over Manitoba, Ontario, and CONUS. A layer of remnant light-to-moderate density smoke was visible among a break in the clouds over southern Greenland, which continued to move eastward over the Atlantic Ocean. Pacific Coast... A layer of offshore remnant light-density smoke was observed from central British Columbia to southern California this evening. Areas of moderate-density smoke also mixed in with the regional light-density plume in some areas. The plume drifted towards the southeast before dissipating near Baja California. CONUS... A broad layer of light-density smoke from today’s fire activity, concentrated primarily in North Dakota, Oklahoma, and the Mississippi Valley, traveled eastward over the Great Lakes into Ontario, as well as southeastward over the Ohio and Tennessee Valley, before continuing across the southeastern states and offshore into the Atlantic Ocean. Smoke also drifted southward into Texas, ultimately merging with smoke from Mexico. Mexico/Central America... 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 and Central America, southward over the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and westward over central Mexico and the Gulf of California before continuing into the Pacific Ocean. BLOWING DUST: Caribbean... Moderate-density blowing dust from the Sahara Desert extended westward across most of the Caribbean Sea, ultimately reaching the Yucatan Peninsula and parts of Central America. 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