DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z September 16, 2026
SMOKE: Canada… Cloud cover obscured most of Canada today. A layer of remnant light-density smoke was observed drifting southeastward across the Hudson Bay and into northern Ontario. Another layer of remnant light-density smoke drifted east-southeastward from Nunavut across the Hudson Strait, before dispersing northeastward into the Davis Strait. California… The Dome and Floriston Fires were observed generating a light-to-heavy density smoke plume extending north-northeastward across western Nevada into Oregon. Southeastern CONUS… Isolated fires in North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama were observed producing light-to-moderate density smoke plumes generally drifting southwestward, while fires in Mississippi, Louisiana, and southeastern Arkansas produced light-to-moderate density smoke plumes generally drifting northwestward. Multiple fires in central Arkansas were also observed produced a localized layer of moderate-to-heavy density smoke drifting north-northwestward. Arkansas/Missouri… Scattered fires in northeastern Arkansas and southeastern Missouri produced individual smoke plumes ranging in various densities drifting northward. Texas… The Dry River Fire in Sutton County, Texas produced a light-to-heavy density smoke plume that drifted northwestward before eventually shifting northward. Idaho/Montana… Scattered fires in northern Idaho produced a light-to-heavy density smoke plume extending westward into southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon. A fire in western Montana was also seen producing a localized area of light-to-heavy density smoke. Baja California… A fire in Baja California generated a moderate-to-heavy density smoke plume drifting northward, transitioning to light-density smoke before reaching southern California. 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/Gulf of 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. Dominican Republic… A fire in the Dominican Republic was observed generating moderate-to-heavy density smoke extending westward across Jamaica and into the western 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