DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z September 15, 2026
SMOKE: Canada... Cloud cover obscured most of Canada today. A layer of remnant light-to-moderate density smoke was observed drifting southeastward from eastern Nunavut across the Labrador Sea, eventually dispersing into the Atlantic Ocean. Some light smoke from this layer continued southwestward across Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, merging with light-density smoke from CONUS. A separate layer of remnant light smoke drifted eastward from Nunavut into the Hudson Bay. California… A layer of offshore remnant light-density smoke was observed from northern California this evening. A wildfire in Mariposa County was also observed generating a light-to-heavy density smoke plume extending northward. Texas/Oklahoma… Multiple fires ignited in Texas and Oklahoma this evening, producing individual light-to-heavy density smoke plumes generally drifting northward. Baja California… A fire in Baja California produced a light-to-heavy density smoke plume extending northward across the U.S.-Mexico border into southern California. Southeastern CONUS… Widespread fires across the Southeastern United States produced multiple individual smoke plumes this evening. Light-to-moderate density smoke plumes in southern Mississippi and Alabama were observed drifting westward, while the light-to-heavy density smoke plumes in the Lower Mississippi Valley generally drifted northeastward. A particular fire in southern Arkansas produced light-to-moderate density smoke extending northwestward across the state. CONUS… A broad layer of light-density smoke was observed traveling eastward over the southern Plains and the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, before continuing across the Northeastern and Southeastern states and into the Atlantic Ocean. Smoke from today’s fires merged with smoke drifting northward from Mexico. Mexico/Central America... A layer of light density smoke from fires and industrial activity was observed in the Gulf coastal region, extending eastward into the Gulf of America, Central America, and the Caribbean Sea, southward over the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and westward over Central Mexico before drifting into the Pacific Ocean. A concentrated layer of moderate-density smoke was observed over the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Dominican Republic… A fire in the Dominican Republic was observed generating light-to-heavy density smoke extending northwestward across the Tiburon Peninsula and westward into the Caribbean Sea. GL 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