Today's Texas Air Quality Forecast

Light winds, warm to hot temperatures, abundant afternoon sunshine, and/or elevated incoming background levels could be enough for ozone to reach the upper end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth area; the middle of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Amarillo, El Paso, and Houston areas; the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Lubbock, Midland-Odessa, and Tyler-Longview areas; and the upper end of the "Good" range for the majority of the Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, San Antonio, and Waco-Killeen areas, with the highest concentrations in the afternoon and early evening.

A mixture of light density residual smoke mainly from burning activities across portions of the Lower Mississippi Valley expanding over the state but also with light amounts of smoke from scattered burnings across portions of North Central Texas, the South Plains, the eastern Texas Panhandle, and East Texas; industrial activities that include oil & gas operations in the Permian Basin; the wildfires in the Pacific Northwest; and possibly some from burning activities in northern Mexico and the Bay of Campeche are filtering and lingering over Texas. Model guidance suggests that a light density plume of Saharan dust is lingering over the eastern two-thirds of Texas with slightly higher densities over Southeast and North Central Texas. Light morning winds and/or slightly elevated relative humidity levels over the majority of the state with the exception of the South Plains and the Permian Basin could slightly increase urban fine particulate matter in the more populated areas. Overall, the daily PM2.5 AQI may reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Brownsville-McAllen, Bryan-College Station, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Laredo, Midland-Odessa, San Antonio, Tyler-Longview, Victoria, and Waco-Killeen areas and the upper end of the "Good" range for the majority of the Amarillo, Big Bend, and Lubbock areas. The daily PM10 AQI could reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth area and the upper end of the "Good" range in parts of the Austin, Houston, and San Antonio areas as well.

Very light winds, limited vertical mixing, and possible light density residual smoke across far West Texas could raise the daily PM2.5/PM10 AQIs to the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the El Paso area.

Light winds, warm to hot temperatures, abundant afternoon sunshine, and/or elevated incoming background levels could 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; the middle to upper end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Amarillo and Houston areas; the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the El Paso, Lubbock, and Midland-Odessa areas; and the upper end of the "Good" range for the majority of the Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, San Antonio, Tyler-Longview, and Waco-Killeen areas, with the highest concentrations in the afternoon and early evening.

The mixture of light density residual smoke primarily from burning activities across portions of the Lower Mississippi Valley as well as from scattered burnings across portions of North Central Texas, the South Plains, the eastern Texas Panhandle, and East Texas; industrial activities that include oil & gas operations in the Permian Basin; the wildfires in the Pacific Northwest; and possibly from burning activities in northern Mexico and the Bay of Campeche are expected to continue filtering and lingering over Texas. Model guidance suggests that the light density plume of Saharan dust may linger over the eastern two-thirds of Texas in decreasing quantities. Light morning winds and/or slightly elevated relative humidity levels over the eastern two thirds of the state may continue to slightly increase urban fine particulate matter in the more populated areas. Overall, the daily PM2.5 AQI may reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Brownsville-McAllen, Bryan-College Station, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Laredo, Midland-Odessa, San Antonio, Tyler-Longview, Victoria, and Waco-Killeen areas and the upper end of the "Good" range for the majority of the Amarillo, Big Bend, and Lubbock areas. The daily PM10 AQI could reach the upper end of the "Good" range in parts of the Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio areas as well.

Persistent light daytime winds, limited vertical mixing, and possibly light density residual smoke across far West Texas could keep the daily PM2.5/PM10 AQIs at the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the El Paso area.

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

A weak frontal boundary is forecast to make it way toward and possibly over North Central Texas and may steer some light density residual smoke from potential burning activities across Oklahoma over North Central Texas. Otherwise, model guidance indicates that the mixture of light density residual smoke from a combination of burning activities across portions of the Lower Mississippi Valley as well as from scattered burnings across portions of North Central Texas, the South Plains, and East Texas; industrial activities that include oil & gas operations in the Permian Basin; the wildfires in the Pacific Northwest; and possibly from burning activities in northern Mexico and the Bay of Campeche may continue filtering and lingering over Texas. Additionally, model guidance suggests that the light density plume of Saharan dust will continue weakening and should be very minimal at the surface. Light morning winds and/or slightly elevated relative humidity levels over the eastern two thirds of the state could continue to slightly elevate urban fine particulate matter in the more populated areas. Overall, the daily PM2.5 AQI may reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Austin, Brownsville-McAllen, Bryan-College Station, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Laredo, Midland-Odessa, San Antonio, Tyler-Longview, Victoria, and Waco-Killeen areas and the upper end of the "Good" range for the majority of the Amarillo, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Big Bend, and Lubbock areas. The daily PM10 AQI could reach the upper end of the "Good" range in parts of the Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio areas as well.

There is the possibility for pockets of low "Moderate" urban fine particulate PM2.5/PM10 concentrations for several hours across portions of far West Texas associated with light daytime winds, lower morning vertical mixing heights, limiting pollutant dispersion, along with some light urban pollutant carryover from the previous days. The overall daily PM2.5/PM10 AQIs may stay at lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the region, which includes the El Paso area.

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

The weak frontal boundary is forecast to stall over North Central Texas while continuing to possibly steer light density residual smoke from potential burning activities across Oklahoma over North Central Texas. Otherwise, the mixture of light density residual smoke from a combination of burning activities across portions of the Lower Mississippi Valley as well as from scattered burnings across portions of North Central Texas, the South Plains, and East Texas; industrial activities that include oil & gas operations in the Permian Basin; the wildfires in the Pacific Northwest; and possibly from burning activities in northern Mexico and the Bay of Campeche may continue filtering and lingering over Texas, however most of the smoke should remain aloft. Additionally, model guidance suggests that the light density plume of Saharan dust will have completely weakened and not be present over the state. Light morning winds and/or slightly elevated relative humidity levels over the eastern two thirds of the state could continue to slightly elevate urban fine particulate matter in the more populated areas. Overall, the daily PM2.5 AQI may reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Tyler-Longview, and Waco-Killeen areas and the upper end of the "Good" range for the majority of the Amarillo, Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Big Bend, Brownsville-McAllen, Bryan-College Station, Corpus Christi, Laredo, Lubbock, Midland-Odessa, San Antonio, and Victoria areas.

Light daytime winds and lower morning vertical mixing heights, limiting pollutant dispersion, along with some light urban pollutant carryover from the previous days over portions of far West Texas may keep the daily PM2.5 AQI at the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the region, which includes the El Paso area.