DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z May 2, 2026
SMOKE: Central United States and Canada… Scattered fires from Manitoba to Oklahoma produced plumes of light-to-moderate smoke which drifted south and east. Plumes were concentrated in southern Manitoba, eastern Nebraska and Kansas, western Iowa, and Oklahoma. Cuba… Fires in western Cuba produced a layer of light density smoke that drifted north and east away from island towards the Bahamas. SMOKE/AEROSOL: Mexico/Pacific Ocean/Gulf of America/Central America… Smoke from fire activity, aerosol emissions from gas flaring and other industrial activities, as well as remnant smoke from previous days contributed to a widespread layer of light-density smoke/aerosol across southern Mexico and the Yucatan Peninsula. Smoke spread into the Pacific and Gulf waters, pushing east along a weather system towards Cuba and Florida. A medium-density layer gathered and circulated in the southern Gulf between mainland Mexico and the Yucatan. Mills 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:http://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