Today's Texas Air Quality Forecast

An Ozone Action Day is in effect today for the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Light winds, warm temperatures, sufficient afternoon sunshine, and/or elevated incoming background levels could be enough for ozone to reach the lower to middle end of the "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" range on the north and northwest sides of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the upper end of the "Moderate" range or possibly higher Austin, Houston, and San Antonio areas, the middle to upper end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Bryan-College Station, and Waco-Killeen areas, the lower to middle end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Amarillo, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Midland-Odessa, and Tyler-Longview areas, and the upper end of the "Good" range for a majority of the Corpus Christi, El Paso, Laredo, Lubbock and Victoria areas.

An area of light to moderate density smoke from agricultural burning across the Mississippi Valley, southern Plains, and southeastern CONUS over the past few days, was seen blanketing an area from the southern Plains through Mississippi Valley and southward along the western Gulf of Mexico. Urban fine particulate levels are forecast to remain slightly elevated as continental haze remains a factor due to light winds in the East and Central regions as well as portions of North Central Texas. Higher relative humidity pushing northward through the eastern half of the state could facilitate fine particulate formation with the highest concentrations in Central, North Central, and East Texas. The daily PM2.5 AQI is forecast to reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Tyler-Longview, and Waco-Killeen areas and the upper end of the "Good" range in a majority of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Brownsville-McAllen, Bryan-College Station, Corpus Christi, Laredo, and Victoria areas.

Light winds and limited vertical mixing during the morning hours in Far West could push the daily PM2.5/PM10 AQIs into the lower end of the "Moderate" range for a majority of the El Paso area.

Otherwise and elsewhere in the state, moderate winds, scattered cloud cover, and/or lower incoming background levels should help keep air quality in the "Good" range in most spots.

An Ozone Action Day will be in effect Saturday for the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Light winds, warm 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 on the north side of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the upper end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Houston area, the middle to upper end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Bryan-College Station, Tyler-Longview, and Waco-Killeen areas, the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Austin, Midland-Odessa, and San Antonio areas, and the upper end of the "Good" range for a majority of the Amarillo, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Corpus Christi, El Paso, Laredo, Lubbock, and Victoria areas.

Elevated fine particulate matter is forecast for the Central, North Central, and East/Southeast regions as model guidance suggests persisting transport of light residual smoke from seasonal agricultural burnings in the Lower Mississippi Valley and southeastern CONUS, as easterlies prevail in East and Northeast Texas. Increased dew points are forecast to push farther north and westward contributing to fine particulate formation, particularly when juxtaposed with surface smoke. Light morning winds in Far West Texas could result in elevated urban fine particulate matter in Far West Texas, however, increasing chances for moderate to heavy precipitation later in the afternoon and evening could increase pollutant dispersion. The daily PM2.5 AQI is forecast to reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston areas and the upper end of the "Good" range for a majority of the Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Bryan-College Station, El Paso, Laredo, San Antonio, Tyler-Longview, Victoria, and Waco-Killeen areas. The daily PM10 AQI could reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in the El Paso area as well.

Otherwise and elsewhere in the state, moderate winds, scattered cloud cover, and/or lower incoming background levels should help keep air quality in the "Good" range in most spots.

An Ozone Action Day will be in effect Sunday for the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Light winds, warm 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 on the north and west side of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the upper end of the "Moderate" range on the west side of the Tyler-Longview area, the middle to upper end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Austin and San Antonio areas, the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Bryan-College Station, Houston, and Waco-Killeen areas, and the upper end of the "Good" range for a majority of the Amarillo, Corpus Christi, El Paso, Laredo, Lubbock, Midland-Odessa, and Victoria areas.

Easterly winds in East, Southeast, and South Texas are forecast to once again anticipated to keep light amounts of residual smoke in Central, North Central, and East/Southeast Texas. While smoke is likely to push farther south and west, most of it is forecast to remain aloft having a minimal effect on surface fine particulate concentrations. The daily PM2.5 AQI is forecast to increase into the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Tyler-Longview, and Waco-Killeen areas and the upper end of the "Good" range in a majority of the Amarillo, Austin, Brownsville-McAllen, Bryan-College Station, Corpus Christi, El Paso, Laredo, Lubbock, Midland-Odessa, San Antonio, and Victoria areas.

Otherwise and elsewhere in the state, moderate winds, scattered cloud cover, and/or lower incoming background levels should help keep air quality in the "Good" range in most spots.

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

East/southeast winds are forecast for East and South Texas as winds increase in the western third of the state ahead of an approaching cold front from the Rockies. Residual smoke is forecast to continue affecting the eastern two thirds of Texas due to enduring agricultural burnings in the Mississippi Valley and southeast U.S., while most of the smoke could remain aloft. The daily PM2.5 AQI is forecast to reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth, El Paso, Houston, and Tyler-Longview areas and the upper end of the "Good" range in a majority of the Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Brownsville-McAllen, Bryan-College Station, Corpus Christi, Laredo, San Antonio, and Victoria areas.

Otherwise and elsewhere in the state, moderate winds, scattered cloud cover, and/or lower incoming background levels should help keep air quality in the "Good" range in most spots.

Light winds, warm temperatures, sufficient afternoon sunshine, and/or elevated incoming background levels could be enough for ozone to reach the middle of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth and Tyler-Longview areas and the upper end of the "Good" range for a majority of the Amarillo, Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Bryan-College Station, El Paso, Houston, Lubbock, Midland-Odessa, San Antonio, and Waco-Killeen areas.

Depending on the burning activity in the Mississippi Valley and Southeast U.S., light residual smoke could continue being transported into the state however, most of it could once again remain aloft as low pressure and the aforementioned cold front gradually push into Northwest Texas. Higher dew points are forecast to be advected farther inland to the north and west, as far as the Permian Basin and southern Panhandle, aiding in fine particulate formation particularly in the vicinity of the surface boundary. The daily PM2.5 AQI is forecast to reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Austin, El Paso, Houston, Midland-Odessa, and San Antonio areas and the upper end of the "Good" range in a majority of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Brownsville-McAllen, Bryan-College Station, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, Laredo, Lubbock, Tyler-Longview, Victoria, and Waco-Killeen areas.

Otherwise and elsewhere in the state, moderate winds, scattered cloud cover, and/or lower incoming background levels should help keep air quality in the "Good" range in most spots.