Today's Texas Air Quality Forecast

Light winds, warm to hot temperatures, sufficient afternoon sunshine, and/or elevated incoming background levels may be enough for ozone to reach the upper end of the "Moderate" range (or possibly higher) on the north side of the Dallas-Fort Worth area and in the central region and on the north side of the Houston area; the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the El Paso and Tyler-Longview areas; and the upper end of the "Good" range for the majority of the Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Bryan-College Station, San Antonio, and Waco-Killeen areas, with the highest concentrations expected in the afternoon and evening.

Light density residual smoke over the state from a combination of fires across Canada, the southeastern U.S., and isolated burning activities across Eastern Texas may at times elevate PM2.5 levels with the slightly higher concentrations over North Central, Southeast, and East Texas. Most of the smoke should remain aloft with only very light amounts of the fine particulate matter expected to mix down to the surface. Meanwhile, slightly elevated urban fine particulate levels associated with light daytime surface winds could contribute towards raising PM2.5 concentrations in parts of the state as well. Overall, the daily PM2.5 AQI may 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 for the majority of the Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, San Antonio, and Waco-Killeen areas. The daily PM10 AQI could reach the upper end of the "Good" range in parts of the El Paso area as well.

Light winds, warm temperatures, sufficient afternoon sunshine, and/or elevated incoming background levels may be enough for ozone to reach the middle to upper end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston areas and the upper end of the "Good" range for the majority of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Bryan-College Station, El Paso, Tyler-Longview, and Waco-Killeen areas, with the highest concentrations expected in the afternoon and evening.

The very light density residual smoke from a combination of fires mainly across Canada, the southeastern U.S., and potentially ongoing isolated burning activities across Eastern Texas may continue to linger over the state with the slightly higher concentrations expected to be over North Central, Southeast, and East Texas. Most of the fine particulate matter however should remain aloft. Meanwhile, slightly elevated urban fine particulate levels associated with light morning surface winds could contribute towards raising PM2.5 concentrations in parts of the state as well. Overall, the daily PM2.5 AQI may reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Tyler-Longview areas and the upper end of the "Good" range for the majority of the El Paso and Waco-Killeen areas.

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

Model guidance suggests that slightly more moderate density residual smoke from the fires in Canada may be steered southward as a cold front moves through the Great Plains, the Texas Panhandle, and South Plains, however precipitation associated with the frontal boundary should help significantly reduce the fine particulate levels. Additionally, depending on the burning activities across the southeastern U.S. and portions of East Texas, light density residual smoke may continue to filter and linger over North Central, Southeast, and East Texas while possibly expanding over portions of the southern coastal bend of Texas. Meanwhile, slightly elevated urban fine particulate levels associated with light morning surface winds could continue to contribute towards raising PM2.5 concentrations in parts of the state as well. Overall, the daily PM2.5 AQI is forecast to reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Houston, and Tyler-Longview areas and the upper end of the "Good" range for the majority of the Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, El Paso, San Antonio, and Waco-Killeen areas.

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

Depending on the burning activities across Canada, the southeastern U.S., and portions of East Texas as well as the coverage of the light to moderate residual smoke from these, fine particulate matter may be slightly elevated mainly across portions the Texas Panhandle, the South Plains, North Central, Southeast, and East Texas, as well as along the coastal bend of Texas as the aforementioned cold front reaches North Central and Northeast Texas. Additionally, slightly elevated urban fine particulate levels associated with light morning surface winds may continue to contribute towards raising PM2.5 concentrations in parts of the state as well. Overall, the daily PM2.5 AQI is forecast to reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, El Paso, and Tyler-Longview areas and the upper end of the "Good" range for the majority of the Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, and Waco-Killeen areas. The daily PM10 AQI could reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the El Paso area as well.

Light winds, warm temperatures, sufficient afternoon sunshine, and/or elevated incoming background levels may be enough for ozone 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 the majority of the Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Bryan-College Station, El Paso, San Antonio, and Waco-Killeen areas, with the highest concentrations expected in the afternoon and evening.

Model guidance is bullish on maintaining light residual smoke mainly over North Central, Southeast, and East Texas from the burning activities across the southeastern U.S. as the aforementioned cold front slows and possibly stalls across North Central and Northeast Texas while the smoke over the Texas Panhandle and the South Plains from Canada is forecast to weaken and disperse. Most of the fine particulate matter associated with the residual smoke from the burning activities across the southeastern U.S. should remain aloft over Texas. Meanwhile, slightly elevated urban fine particulate levels associated with light morning surface winds could continue to briefly contribute towards raising PM2.5 concentrations in parts of the state as well. Overall, the daily PM2.5 AQI is forecast to reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Beaumont-Port Arthur and Houston areas and the upper end of the "Good" range for the majority of the Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, El Paso, Tyler-Longview, and Waco-Killeen areas.