DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1500Z October 22, 2026
SMOKE: Canada… A broad area of remnant light-density smoke from yesterday’s widespread activity in Western Canada and the Northwest Territories was observed over southern Nunavut and from eastern Saskatchewan to Ontario. Southeastern U.S.… Numerous fires across the Southeastern U.S. were observed producing light-to-moderate density smoke plumes drifting south to southwestward. A broad area of light-density smoke from widespread activity was observed extending across the Midwestern U.S., the Great Plains, and the Southeastern U.S. before drifting eastward into the Atlantic Ocean and southward into the Gulf of America. Mexico… A layer of light-to-moderate density smoke was observed along the western coast of Mexico and drifting southwestward into the Pacific Ocean. 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