DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z May 17, 2026
SMOKE: New Mexico… A wildfire in Lincoln County, New Mexico was observed generating heavy-to-moderate density smoke before transitioning to light-density smoke as it extended northeastward through Texas and Oklahoma before dissipating in eastern Kansas. Central Plains… Wildfires in the Oklahoma panhandle and southwestern Kansas were observed producing individual light-to-moderate density smoke plumes drifting towards the northeast. A large area of light-density smoke consisting of remnant smoke from yesterday’s fire activity and light-density smoke from activity earlier this afternoon was also observed drifting northeastward, spanning southeastern Nebraska, northern Kansas, and western Iowa. California… A fire on Santa Rosa Island was observed this evening generating a heavy-density smoke plume before transitioning to light-to-moderate density smoke as it drifted southeastward into the Pacific Ocean. A fire in Stanislaus County was also observed producing a light-density smoke plume moving towards the southeast. Northern Florida… Despite significant cloud cover across the Southeastern United States, a fire in Walton County, Florida was seen producing a heavy-density smoke plume before transitioning to light-to-moderate density smoke as it extended northward into southern Alabama. 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 that was observed extending north across the Gulf, continuing eastward along the U.S. Gulf Coast before drifting northeastward across Florida into the Atlantic Ocean. Light-density smoke also extended eastward over the Yucatan Peninsula and Central America before drifting into the Gulf of Honduras. The smoke continued extending from the Mexican Gulf coast across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec before drifting into the Pacific off the coasts of Mexico and Central America. An area of moderate-density smoke was also observed along the Mexican Gulf coast before drifting northward into the Bay of Campeche. 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: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