DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z September 28, 2026
SMOKE: Canada/Greenland… A layer of remnant light-density smoke was observed this morning moving northeastward from northern Manitoba and over the Hudson Bay before being obscured by cloud cover. The smoke reappeared off the coast of Baffin Island and continued east-southeastward across Greenland before dispersing into the Atlantic Ocean. Pacific Northwest/California… Multiple large wildfires ignited across the Pacific Northwest of CONUS today, producing individual regional plumes ranging from light-to-heavy density smoke. Fire and smoke sprawled across southeastern Washington and north-central Idaho, drifting east-northeastward. A few fires in central Oregon produced heavy-density smoke. In California, fires located in and around the Sacramento Valley produced light-to-medium density smoke plumes that drifted southeastward. Heavy-density smoke from the Dome Fire extended southward, while a layer of light-to-moderate density smoke blew southwestward over the San Joaquin Valley. Southeastern U.S./Mississippi Valley… Numerous fires across the southeastern U.S. were observed producing individual light-to-medium density smoke plumes that traveled generally southward. A high concentration of individual medium-to-heavy density smoke plumes from agricultural fires were observed across the Middle and Lower Mississippi Valley, including southeastern Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana, mostly west of the Mississippi River. In Texas, two fires located northeast of Houston produced medium-to-heavy smoke plumes. All of these plumes contributed to a regional layer of medium-density smoke that extended from southern Kansas, across northeastern Oklahoma and throughout the Mississippi Valley. A regional layer of remnant light-density smoke stretched from the U.S. Gulf Coast and extended northward across the eastern Central Plains, the Mississippi Valley, and further northward before dissipating over the Great Lakes. The plume also extended eastward across the southeastern U.S. before continuing into the Atlantic Ocean and southward into the Gulf of America, merging with smoke from Mexico. Mexico/Gulf of America/Baja California Sur/Pacific Ocean… A layer of light-density smoke from agricultural burning and industrial activity was observed across most of the Gulf of America, continuing southwards across the Mexican Gulf coast and crossing the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. A large layer of medium-to-heavy density smoke stretched northwards over the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, continuing through the Bay of Campeche and nearly reaching Texas. A remnant layer of light-density smoke was observed drifting over the Pacific Coast of Mexico, the Gulf of California, and Baja California Sur before continuing 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