DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z October 13, 2026
SMOKE: Central/Southeastern CONUS… Numerous individual smoke plumes were observed across the southeastern United States this evening. Concentrated fire activity was observed in Louisiana and eastern Arkansas, where moderate-to-heavy density smoke plumes drifted generally northwestward. Additional fires were observed throughout the southeastern United States, with moderate-to-heavy density smoke plumes generally drifting southward or southeastward. A layer of remnant medium-density smoke from yesterday’s fire activity was observed drifting northeastward over the Mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States. Fires in this region, as well as previous fire activity, contributed to a layer of light-density remnant smoke that stretched along much of the eastern United States from Texas to southern Maine, drifting northeastward over the Atlantic Ocean and southwestward to merge with smoke over Mexico. Northwestern CONUS… Several fires were observed burning in northern California this evening, creating moderate-to-heavy density smoke plumes that drifted southwestward, as well as light-density smoke that dispersed locally. A cluster of fires was also observed in southeastern Washington. These fires produced localized moderate-to-heavy density smoke, as well as a layer of light-density smoke that drifted southward into Oregon and northeastward into Idaho. Mexico/Gulf of America… Remnant light-density smoke was observed across the Gulf of America, extending across the Bay of Campeche, the Mexican Gulf Coast, and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. A smaller layer of light-density smoke was observed off the south-central coast of Mexico, drifting into the Pacific Ocean. Marrs 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