Today's Texas Air Quality Forecast

Forecast Discussion

Mild temperatures, abundant afternoon sunshine, and/or elevated incoming background levels could be enough for ozone to reach the upper end of the "Good" range (perhaps with an isolated low "Moderate" or two) in parts of the Beaumont-Port Arthur and Houston areas, with highest concentrations in the afternoon and early evening.

Fine particulate levels associated with residual smoke from seasonal fires in the Southeast U.S. (including areas in Northeast, East and Southeast Texas) could possibly raise the daily PM2.5 AQI to the middle of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Houston, Tyler-Longview and Victoria areas and the upper end of the "Good" range (perhaps with an isolated low "Moderate" or two) in parts of the Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth and Waco-Killeen areas.

Otherwise and elsewhere, moderate to strong winds, cold temperatures, and/or lower incoming background levels should help keep air quality in the "Good" range in most spots statewide.

Mild temperatures, abundant afternoon sunshine, and/or elevated incoming background levels could be enough for ozone to reach the upper end of the "Good" range (perhaps with an isolated low "Moderate" or two) in parts of the Dallas Fort Worth area, with highest concentrations in the afternoon and early evening.

Light amounts of residual smoke from ongoing seasonal fires across the South Central and Southeast U.S. could continue to enhance fine particulate levels over portions of Northeast Texas while expanding into North Central, Southeast and South Texas, possibly raising the daily PM2.5 AQI to the lower to middle end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Austin, Brownsville-McAllen, Corpus Christi, Laredo and Victoria areas and the upper end of the "Good" range (perhaps with an isolated low "Moderate" or two) in parts of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Tyler-Longview and Waco-Killeen areas.

Light winds and limited vertical mixing may allow urban fine particulate matter to increase in portions of West Texas, particularly in parts of the El Paso area where the daily PM2.5 AQI could reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range, with highest concentrations in the morning and evening.

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

Light to moderate winds, warm temperatures, abundant afternoon sunshine, and/or elevated incoming background levels could be enough for ozone to reach the the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Houston, San Antonio, Tyler-Longview and Victoria areas and the upper end of the "Good" range (perhaps with an isolated low "Moderate" or two) in parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with highest concentrations in the afternoon and early evening.

Should seasonal burning across the Southeast U.S. continue, the resulting light residual smoke may filter back into portions of East Texas and expand into portions of Central and South Texas. Overall, depending on the coverage and intensity, the daily PM2.5 AQI is forecast to possibly reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Brownsville-McAllen, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Laredo, San Antonio, Tyler-Longview, Victoria, and Waco-Killeen areas and the upper end of the "Good" range in parts of the Midland-Odessa area.

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

Light to moderate winds, warm temperatures, abundant afternoon sunshine, and/or elevated incoming background levels could be enough for ozone to reach the the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the San Antonio and Tyler-Longview areas and the upper end of the "Good" range (perhaps with an isolated low "Moderate" or two) in parts of the Austin area, with highest concentrations in the afternoon and early evening.

Should the widespread seasonal fire activity continue across the South Central and Southeast U.S., patchy residual smoke may persist primarily across portions of East and Southeast Texas, possibly maintaining the daily PM2.5 AQI at the lower to middle end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Brownsville-McAllen, Corpus Christi, Houston, Laredo, San Antonio, Tyler-Longview, and Victoria, areas and the upper end of the "Good" range (perhaps with an isolated low "Moderate" or two) in parts of the Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth areas.

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

Should the widespread seasonal fire activity continue across the South Central and Southeast U.S., patchy residual smoke may persist primarily across portions of East and Southeast Texas, in the wake of a departing cold front, though the duration and intensity of the building smoke is not expected to be enough to raise the daily PM2.5 AQI beyond the upper end of the "Good" range throughout most of the impacted regions, which includes parts of the Austin, Laredo and Victoria areas.

Otherwise, moderate winds, cold temperatures, and/or lower incoming background levels should help keep air quality in the "Good" range in most spots.

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This forecast was last updated at 11:30 AM on Friday, December 6th, and is updated daily on normal TCEQ work days 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 above to monitor the latest actual conditions.