Today's Texas Air Quality Forecast
August 17, 2018
Related Current Data
Related Information
| Forecast Region (Click name for AIRNOW version) |
Fri 08/17/2018 |
Sat 08/18/2018 |
Sun 08/19/2018 |
Mon 08/20/2018 |
Tue 08/21/2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amarillo | Ozone/PM2.5 | Ozone | Ozone | PM2.5 | Ozone/PM2.5 |
| Austin | PM2.5 | PM2.5 | PM2.5 | Good | Good |
| Beaumont-Port Arthur | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| Brownsville-McAllen | PM2.5 | PM2.5 | PM2.5 | PM2.5 | Good |
| Corpus Christi | PM2.5 | PM2.5 | PM2.5 | Good | Good |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | Good | Ozone | Ozone/PM2.5 | Ozone | Ozone/PM2.5 |
| El Paso | Ozone | Ozone | Ozone | Good | Ozone |
| Houston | Good | Good | PM2.5 | Good | Ozone |
| Laredo | Good | PM2.5 | Good | Good | Good |
| Lubbock | Ozone/PM2.5 | Good | Ozone | Ozone/PM2.5 | Ozone/PM2.5 |
| Midland-Odessa | Good | Good | Good | Good | Ozone |
| San Antonio | PM2.5 | PM2.5 | PM2.5 | Good | Good |
| Tyler-Longview | Good | Good | Good | Good | PM2.5 |
| Victoria | PM2.5 | Good | PM2.5 | Good | Good |
| Waco-Killeen | Ozone/PM2.5 | Good | PM2.5 | Good | Ozone |
| An asterisk (*) indicates that an Ozone Action Day is or will be in effect for the indicated region. | |||||
Forecast Discussion
Friday 08/17/2018
Winds may be light enough and/or incoming background levels high enough for ozone to reach "Moderate" or possibly higher in parts of the El Paso area, "Moderate" in parts of the Amarillo, Lubbock, and Waco-Killeen areas, and the upper end of the "Good" range in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston areas, with the highest concentrations in the afternoon and early evening.
African dust will continue to weaken, however light amounts will linger in patches over much of the state with the exception of far West Texas. Additionally, residual smoke from ongoing wildfires across the Western United States is forecast to continue in the northern Panhandle and rotate into parts of Northeast Texas. Overall with these features combined, the daily PM2.5 AQI is forecast to reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Amarillo, Austin, Brownsville-McAllen, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, San Antonio, Victoria, and Waco-Killeen areas; and the upper end of the "Good" range in parts of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Big Bend, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Laredo, Midland-Odessa, and Tyler-Longview areas.
Saturday 08/18/2018
Winds may be light enough and/or incoming background levels high enough for ozone to reach "Moderate" or possibly higher in parts of the El Paso area; "Moderate" in parts of the Amarillo and Dallas-Fort Worth areas; and the upper end of the "Good" range in parts of the Houston, Lubbock, San Antonio, and Waco-Killeen areas, with the highest concentrations in the afternoon and early evening.
African dust will continue to weaken, however light amounts will linger in patches over parts of the North Texas while another weak dust cloud arrives in South and South Central Texas. Additionally, residual smoke due to ongoing wildfires across the Western United States will continue in the northern Panhandle as well. Overall, the daily PM2.5 AQI is forecast to reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Austin, Brownsville-McAllen, Corpus Christi, Laredo, and San Antonio areas and the upper end of the "Good" range in the Amarillo, Dallas-Fort Worth, Lubbock, Victoria, and Waco-Killeen areas.
Otherwise and elsewhere in the state, moderate winds and/or lower incoming background levels should help keep air quality in the "Good" range in most spots.
Sunday 08/19/2018 Outlook
Winds may be light enough and/or incoming background levels high enough for ozone to reach "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" in parts of the El Paso area; "Moderate" or possibly higher in parts of the Lubbock area; and "Moderate" in parts of the Amarillo and Dallas-Fort Worth areas, with the highest concentrations in the afternoon and early evening.
African dust will continue to weaken, however light amounts will linger in patches over much of the eastern half of the state generally along and east of a line from Del Rio to Wichita Falls. Overall, the daily PM2.5 AQI is forecast to reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Austin, Brownsville-McAllen, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Victoria, and Waco-Killeen areas and the upper end of the "Good" range in parts of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Laredo, and Tyler-Longview areas.
Otherwise and elsewhere in the state, moderate winds and/or lower incoming background levels should help keep air quality in the "Good" range in most spots.
Monday 08/20/2018 Outlook
Winds may be light enough and/or incoming background levels high enough for ozone to reach "Moderate" in parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth and Lubbock areas and the upper end of the "Good" range in parts of the El Paso and Houston areas, with the highest concentrations in the afternoon and early evening.
Smoke from ongoing wildfires across the Western United States is expected to surge back into the Texas Panhandle, perhaps pushing as far south as the Permian Basin. Meanwhile, very light amounts of weakening African dust will continue to linger, mainly stretching from South and Southwest Texas through the Hill Country and Central Texas into North Central and Northeast Texas. Overall, the daily PM2.5 AQI is forecast to reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Amarillo, Brownsville-McAllen, and Lubbock areas and the upper end of the "Good" range in parts of the Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, Laredo, Midland-Odessa, San Antonio, Tyler-Longview, and Waco-Killeen areas.
Otherwise and elsewhere in the state, moderate winds, increased cloud cover, and/or lower incoming background levels should help keep air quality in the "Good" range in most spots.
Tuesday 08/21/2018 Extended Outlook
Winds may be light enough and/or incoming background levels high enough for ozone to reach "Moderate" in parts of the Amarillo, Dallas-Fort Worth, El Paso, Houston, Lubbock, Midland-Odessa, and Waco-Killeen areas, with the highest concentrations in the afternoon and early evening.
Smoke from ongoing wildfires across the Western United States is expected to push further into the northern half of the state, impacting spots generally along and north of a line from Midland to Waco to Carthage at times. Meanwhile, very light amounts of dissipating African dust will continue to linger primarily in Southwest Texas and the Big Bend region. Overall, the daily PM2.5 AQI is forecast to reach the "Moderate" range in parts of the Amarillo, Dallas-Fort Worth, Lubbock, and Tyler-Longview areas and the upper end of the "Good" range in parts of the Big Bend, Laredo, Midland-Odessa, and Waco-Killeen areas.
Elsewhere in the state, moderate winds and/or lower incoming background levels should help keep air quality in the "Good" range in most spots.
This forecast was last updated at 10:30 AM on Friday, August 17th, 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.