DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z September 14, 2026
SMOKE: Canada... Fires in the Northwest Territories produced a localized area of moderate-to-heavy density smoke this evening. A broad layer of light-density smoke was also observed in the region extending eastward within the territory. A layer of remnant light-density smoke was observed drifting eastward across central Nunavut, while smoke from fires in CONUS drifted over southeastern Ontario and across the Great Lakes Region. U.S. Pacific Coast... A layer of offshore remnant light-to-moderate density smoke was observed from Oregon to southern California this evening. The plume drifted towards the southeast before being obscured by cloud cover. Texas/Oklahoma… Multiple fires ignited across the Southern Plains today, producing individual light-to-heavy density smoke plumes that drifted northwards. A particularly large fire located directly east of Galveston, Texas, produced heavy-density smoke that blanketed the southeastern portion of the Texan Gulf Coast. Middle Mississippi Valley/Southeastern CONUS… Many individual smoke plumes, mostly concentrated in the Middle Mississippi Valley and southeastern CONUS, contributed to regional plumes of medium-density smoke, one of which stretched from eastern Arkansas into northern Mississippi and Alabama. Another medium-density plume was observed in the Gulf off of the Florida Panhandle, while another drifted offshore of Georgia into the Atlantic Ocean. CONUS... A broad layer of remnant light-density smoke was observed traveling eastward over the Central Plains and the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, before continuing across the Mid-Atlantic states and into the Atlantic Ocean. Smoke from today’s fires in the Southeast merged with smoke from Mexico, covering most of the Gulf of America and the Caribbean Sea. Caribbean… Isolated fires in eastern Cuba and Jamaica contributed to the regional layer of smoke from CONUS and 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 of America, Central America, and the Caribbean Sea, southward over the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and westward over central Mexico and the Gulf of California before continuing into the Pacific Ocean. A concentrated layer of medium-density smoke drifted eastward from the Bay of Campeche towards the Caribbean, while a separate layer extended offshore of Jalisco into the Pacific Ocean. 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