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Today's Texas Air Quality Forecast

The latest forecast for air quality conditions in Texas' metropolitan areas.

November 28, 2023

Forecast is for Ozone, PM2.5, & PM10, and is based on EPA's Air Quality Index (AQI)

Forecast Region
(Click name for AIRNOW version)
Tue
11/28/2023
Wed
11/29/2023
Thu
11/30/2023
Fri
12/01/2023
Amarillo Good Good Good Good
Austin Good Good Good Good
Beaumont-Port Arthur Good Good Good Good
Big Bend Good Good Good Good
Brownsville-McAllen Good PM2.5 Good Good
Bryan-College Station Good Good Good Good
Corpus Christi Good Good Good Good
Dallas-Fort Worth PM2.5 PM2.5 Good Good
El Paso Good PM2.5 Good Good
Houston Good PM2.5 Good Good
Laredo Good Good Good Good
Lubbock Good Good Good Good
Midland-Odessa Good Good Good Good
San Antonio Good Good Good Good
Tyler-Longview Good Good Good Good
Victoria Good Good Good Good
Waco-Killeen Good Good Good Good
An asterisk (*) indicates that an Ozone Action Day is or will be in effect for the indicated region.
A caret (^) indicates that levels of PM may exceed the applicable short-term NAAQS. For more information see the following TCEQ websites:Air Pollution from Particulate Matter and Voluntary Tips for Citizens and Business to Reduce Emissions.

Forecast Discussion

A high-pressure system will continue to remain over most of the state with associated light surface winds and lower morning vertical mixing heights. These conditions may result in urban fine particulate background levels raising the daily PM2.5 AQI into the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth area and to the upper end of the "Good" range (perhaps with an isolated low "Moderate") for the majority of the Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Bryan-College Station, El Paso, Houston, Laredo, San Antonio, Tyler-Longview, and Waco-Killeen areas.

Elsewhere across the state, cold to cool temperatures, and/or lower incoming background levels should help keep air quality in the "Good" range in most spots.

Depending on the amount of scattered burning activity across potions of Louisiana, easterly winds may transport slightly elevated fine particulate matter associated with very light residual smoke over portions of East Texas, Southeast Texas, along the coastal bend of Texas, and Deep South Texas. Additionally, the aforementioned high-pressure system will move eastward over the lower Mississippi River Valley and the Southeast U.S., however slightly increased urban fine particulate background levels associated with light surface winds and lower morning vertical mixing heights may elevate PM2.5 concentrations as well, primarily over North Central Texas, Southeast Texas, along the coastal bend of Texas, and Deep South Texas. Overall, the daily PM2.5 AQI is forecast to reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Brownsville-McAllen, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Houston areas and the upper end of the "Good" range (perhaps with an isolated low "Moderate") for the majority of the Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Bryan-College Station, Corpus Christi, Laredo, San Antonio, Tyler-Longview, Victoria, and Waco-Killeen areas.

Fine urban particulate levels owing to limited dispersion from light winds and limited morning vertical mixing heights are expected to increase the daily PM2.5 AQI to the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the El Paso area.

Otherwise and elsewhere in the state, cool temperatures, and/or lower incoming background levels should help keep air quality in the "Good" range in most spots.

An upper-level low pressure system with an associated cold front is forecast to push through the Texas Panhandle, Permian Basin, Far West Texas, and North Central Texas during the day and possibly South Central Texas during the later evening and overnight hours. Gusty afternoon and evening winds may generate and transport patchy blowing dust through portions of Far West Texas, possibly causing PM2.5/PM10 concentrations to spike into the middle to upper end of the "Moderate" range at times, however the intensity and duration of the possible suspended dust is not expected to be enough to raise the overall PM2.5/PM10 AQIs beyond the upper end of the "Good" range throughout the majority of the impacted region, which includes the El Paso area. Meanwhile, a weak low pressure storm system with an associated warm front is forecast to lift over Deep South Texas and move along the coastal bend of Texas as well as northern Gulf of Mexico, bringing instability, increased vertical mixing, gusty conditions, and precipitation to the eastern half of the state. These conditions are expected to help with dispersion of fine particulate matter over the eastern half of the state associated with very light residual smoke from scattered burning activities across potions of Louisiana expanding over Southeast Texas, along the coastal bend of Texas, and Deep South Texas combined with enhanced fine particulate background levels from elevated relative humidity levels and urban haze. Overall, depending on the timing of the movement of the advancing cold front from the north and warm front from the south, the daily PM2.5 AQI is forecast to net out at the upper end of the "Good" range (perhaps with an isolated low "Moderate") for the majority of the Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Bryan-College Station, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Laredo, San Antonio, Tyler-Longview, and Waco-Killeen areas.

Otherwise and elsewhere across the state, cool temperatures, increasing cloud cover, and/or lower incoming background levels should help keep air quality in the "Good" range in most spots.

Light morning winds and/or elevated relative humidity levels may slightly elevate fine particulate background levels across portions of North Central, South Central, Southeast Texas, as well as Deep South Texas as the aforementioned cold front pushes south through the remainder of the state. Lingering scattered precipitation and moderate winds however should significantly reduce fine particulate levels enough so that most of the regions' daily PM2.5 AQIs are forecast to remain in the "Good" range overall for the day, which includes the Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Brownsville-McAllen, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio areas.

Otherwise across the state, cool to mild temperatures, lingering cloud cover, and/or lower incoming background levels should help keep air quality in the "Good" range in most spots.

This forecast was last updated at 9:35 AM on Tuesday, November 28th, and is updated daily on normal TCEQ workdays and may also be updated on weekends or holidays when air pollution levels are high. Regardless of our forecast, we always recommend that each individual determine what level of activity they should conduct based on the actual local conditions. See the "Related Current Data" links below to monitor the latest actual conditions.

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