Today's Texas Air Quality Forecast

An Ozone Action Day is in effect today for the Houston area. Light winds, warm temperatures, sufficient afternoon sunshine, and/or elevated lingering background levels may be enough for ozone to reach the middle of the "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" range in the central region and on the north side of the Houston area; the upper end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth area; the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Bryan-College Station, and Waco-Killeen areas; and the upper end of the "Good" range for the majority of the Austin, El Paso, San Antonio, and Tyler-Longview areas, with the highest concentrations expected in the afternoon and evening.

Plumes of light density residual smoke over portions of Texas from a combination of fires across Canada, scattered seasonal burning activities throughout the southeastern U.S., and very little from Mexico are expected to linger in decreasing amounts. Meanwhile, slightly increased urban fine particulate background levels associated with continental haze from light surface winds may still slightly elevate PM2.5 levels across portions of the state. Overall, the daily PM2.5 AQI may still reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Waco-Killeen areas and the upper end of the "Good" range for the majority of the Austin, Brownsville-McAllen, El Paso, San Antonio, and Tyler-Longview areas.

Light winds, warm temperatures, sufficient afternoon sunshine, and/or elevated incoming background levels may be enough for ozone to reach the upper end of the "Moderate" range (or possibly higher) on the north side of the Dallas-Fort Worth area and in the central region and on the north side of the Houston area; the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, El Paso, and Tyler-Longview areas; and the upper end of the "Good" range for the majority of the Austin, Bryan-College Station, San Antonio, and Waco-Killeen areas, with the highest concentrations expected in the afternoon and evening.

Model guidance suggests that very little of the fine particulate matter associated with the light density residual smoke from a combination of fires mainly across Canada and the southeastern U.S. are expected to remain over Texas, with the slightly higher amounts over North Central and East Texas. Meanwhile, PM2.5 levels may be slightly elevated in more urban areas of the state associated with continental haze from light surface winds. The overall daily PM2.5 AQI may reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Dallas-Fort Worth, El Paso, Houston, and Tyler-Longview areas and the upper end of the "Good" range for the majority of the Austin, Brownsville-McAllen, San Antonio, and Waco-Killeen areas. The daily PM10 AQI could reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the El Paso area as well.

Light winds, warm to hot temperatures, sufficient afternoon sunshine, and/or elevated incoming background levels may be enough for ozone to reach the lower end of the "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" range in parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston areas; the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Bryan-College Station, Tyler-Longview, and Waco-Killeen areas; and the upper end of the "Good" range for the majority of the Austin, El Paso, and San Antonio areas, with the highest concentrations expected in the afternoon and evening.

Depending on the coverage of the very light density residual smoke, mainly over North Central and East Texas, from a combination of fires across Canada and the southeastern U.S., most of the smoke should remain aloft however some of the fine particulate matter may mix down to the surface. Meanwhile, slightly elevated urban fine particulate levels associated with light surface winds could contribute towards raising PM2.5 concentrations in parts of the state as well. Overall, the daily PM2.5 AQI may reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Dallas-Fort Worth, El Paso, Houston, Tyler-Longview, and Waco-Killeen areas and the upper end of the "Good" range for the majority of the Austin, Brownsville-McAllen, and San Antonio areas. The daily PM10 AQI could reach the upper end of the "Good" range in parts of the El Paso area as well.

Light winds, warm temperatures, sufficient afternoon sunshine, and/or elevated incoming background levels may be enough for ozone to reach the middle to upper end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston areas; the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Bryan-College Station, Tyler-Longview, and Waco-Killeen areas; and the upper end of the "Good" range for the majority of the Austin, El Paso, and San Antonio areas, with the highest concentrations expected in the afternoon and evening.

Model guidance suggests that the very light density residual smoke from a combination of fires across Canada and the southeastern U.S. may continue to linger mainly over North Central and East Texas, with most of the fine particulate matter remaining aloft. Meanwhile, slightly elevated urban fine particulate levels associated with light surface winds could contribute towards raising PM2.5 concentrations in parts of the state as well. Overall, the daily PM2.5 AQI may reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Tyler-Longview areas and the upper end of the "Good" range for the majority of the Austin, Brownsville-McAllen, El Paso, Houston, San Antonio, and Waco-Killeen areas.