Today's Texas Air Quality Forecast

Forecast Discussion

Monday 01/21/2019
Afternoon and evening winds associated with an advancing front may be strong enough to generate and transport patchy blowing dust in West Texas and the Southern Plains, possibly allowing the daily PM10 AQI to reach "Moderate"or possibly higher in parts of the El Paso area and the upper end of the "Good" range in parts of the Lubbock and Midland-Odessa areas. The daily PM2.5 AQI could reach the "Moderate" range in parts of the El Paso area as well.

Very light amounts of smoke associated with a few isolated fires in parts of Central and South Texas could locally increase fine particulate levels at times, though the daily PM2.5 AQI in these areas is expected to remain in the "Good" range overall.

Otherwise and 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.

Tuesday 01/22/2019
Light amounts of suspended blowing dust generated the previous day over West Texas and the Southern Plains combined with light amounts of new dust associated with another round of strong afternoon winds could be enough to raise the daily PM10 AQI to the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Amarillo and El Paso areas and the upper end of the "Good" range in parts of the Lubbock and Midland-Odessa areas.

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

Wednesday 01/23/2019 Outlook
Light amounts of suspended blowing dust generated the previous afternoon in the Panhandle is expected to be transported southward overnight into Wednesday morning when stagnant conditions will prevail. The combination of lingering suspended dust, light winds, and limited vertical mixing could be enough to raise the daily PM2.5 and PM10 AQIs to the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the El Paso area and the upper end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Midland-Odessa area and the Big Bend region, with highest concentrations in the morning.

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

Thursday 01/24/2019 Outlook
If incoming background levels are high enough, winds may be light enough and temperatures warm enough for ozone to reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the San Antonio area, with highest concentrations in the afternoon and early evening.

Light winds and limited vertical mixing could be enough for the daily PM2.5 AQI to reach the "Moderate" range in parts of the El Paso area, with highest concentrations in the morning and evening.

Strong afternoon winds could generate and transport light amounts of patchy blowing dust into portions of the Panhandle and Permian Basin, though duration and intensity of the dust is not expected to be enough to raise the daily PM10 AQI beyond the "Good" range in these areas.

Elsewhere in the state, 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 9:45 AM on Monday, January 21st, 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.