DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z October 1, 2026
SMOKE: Southeastern U.S./Mississippi Valley... Despite significant cloud cover across eastern CONUS this evening, widespread fires across the Southeastern U.S. and Mississippi Valley were observed producing light-to-moderate density smoke plumes drifting generally northwestward and northeastward. A regional area of moderate-density smoke spanned over the Middle and Lower Mississippi Valley, traveling northeastward over the Tennessee Valley and the Ohio Valley. A large layer of light-density smoke stretched from the Southeastern U.S. and traveled northeastward towards the Mid-Atlantic states, eastward into the Atlantic Ocean, and southward into the Gulf of America, merging with smoke from Mexico. Pacific Northwest... Fires across the state of Oregon were observed producing individual light-to-heavy density smoke plumes generally drifting northeastward within the state. Two large fires located in south-central Washington produced light-to-heavy density smoke that extended northwards across the state. California... The Dome Fire in Yosemite National Park continued to burn this morning, producing light-to-heavy density smoke drifting northwestward towards the Central Valley. Light smoke also traveled northeastward into Nevada. Multiple other fires across northern California also contributed individual light-to-heavy density plumes. Mexico/Pacific Ocean/Gulf of America... A layer of light-density smoke from agricultural burning and industrial activity was observed across the western Gulf of America and along the Mexican Gulf coast, extending southward across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and into the Pacific Ocean. A layer of heavy-density smoke was observed emanating from offshore industrial sources, while a layer of moderate-density smoke was also observed extending northwestward from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec into the Bay of Campeche. A separate layer of light-density smoke extended westward across the Gulf of California and the Baja California peninsula before dispersing 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