Today's Texas Air Quality Forecast

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.