Tuesday, September 15, 2026

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1500Z September 15, 2026

SMOKE:
Canada...
Cloud cover obscured most of Canada today. An area of remnant light smoke
drifted northeast over Saskatchewan towards Nunavut and eastward across
northern Hudson Bay.

Wyoming/Montana/Dakotas…
Fires in southern Montana produced n area of light smoke that lingered
over the area and spread across northern Wyoming with some contribution
from fires in northern California. Light smoke drifted northeast towards
Minnesota.

Texas/Southeastern CONUS…
A widespread area of light smoke drifted north from Mexico and followed
the Gulf coast east where scattered fires added to the plume. The light
smoke continued to spread east, northeast along either side of Appalachia
and the Atlantic coast as it dispersed.


Mexico/Central America...
A layer of light density smoke from fires and industrial activity spread
in all directions from the Gulf coastal region north towards Texas and
south towards Guatemala. Light smoke spread across the region to the
southwestern coast, into the Pacific.

Mills


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.