Today's Texas Air Quality Forecast

Warm to hot temperatures, light winds, sufficient afternoon sunshine, and/or elevated incoming background levels could be enough for ozone to reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the El Paso area and should stay in the "Good" range for the majority of the Amarillo, Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Big Bend, Bryan-College Station, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Laredo, Lubbock, Midland-Odessa, San Antonio, Tyler-Longview, and Waco-Killeen areas.

The leading edge of a moderately dense plume of Saharan dust is forecast to arrive later on in the evening over portions of Southeast Texas, along the coastal bend of Texas, and down to deep South Texas, beginning to produce hazier skies along the coast. Meanwhile, very light amounts of light density residual smoke and industrial aerosols from fire burning activities, volcanic emissions, and industrial activities throughout Central and Southern Mexico as well as the Yucatán Peninsula will continue filtering over deep South Texas, the Coastal Plains, along the lower Rio Grande Valley, as well as South Central and Southeast Texas. Very light amounts of residual smoke from isolated seasonal burning activities across portions of East, Southeast, South Central Texas, and along the Coastal Plains may slightly enhance fine particulate background levels across these regions as well. Elevated relative humidity levels over most of the state with the exception of far West Texas are also expected to slightly enhance fine particulate background levels too. Overall, newer model guidance indicates the daily PM2.5 AQI may reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Bryan-College Station, Brownsville-McAllen, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Laredo, San Antonio, Tyler-Longview, Victoria, and Waco-Killeen areas and should stay in the "Good" range for the majority of the Amarillo, Big Bend, Lubbock, and Midland-Odessa areas. The daily PM10 AQI may reach the upper end of the "Good" range in parts of the Brownsville-McAllen, Corpus Christi, and Houston areas as well.

Slightly elevated urban fine particulate levels associated with light daytime winds and limited morning 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.

Warm to hot temperatures, light winds, 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 El Paso area; the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Lubbock and Midland-Odessa areas; and should stay in the "Good" range for the majority of the Amarillo, Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Big Bend, Bryan-College Station, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Laredo, San Antonio, Tyler-Longview, and Waco-Killeen areas.

The moderately dense plume of Saharan dust is forecast to push farther inland, possibly reaching over most of the state with the exception of the Texas Panhandle and far West Texas. Meanwhile, very light amounts of light density residual smoke and industrial aerosols associated with fire burning activities, volcanic emissions, and industrial activities throughout Central and Southern Mexico as well as the Yucatán Peninsula are expected to continue filtering over deep South Texas, the Coastal Plains, along the lower Rio Grande Valley, as well as South Central and Southeast Texas, however these aerosols should remain mostly aloft. Additionally, depending on the amount of small, seasonal burning activities across portions of East, Southeast, South Central Texas, and along the Coastal Plains, very light density residual smoke may continue to slightly enhance fine particulate background levels across these regions. Elevated relative humidity levels over most of the state with the exception of far West Texas are expected to continue slightly enhancing fine particulate background levels too. Overall, the daily PM2.5 AQI may reach the middle of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Brownsville-McAllen, Corpus Christi, Houston, Laredo, San Antonio, and Victoria areas; the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Austin, Big Bend, Bryan-College Station, Dallas-Fort Worth, Midland-Odessa, Tyler-Longview, and Waco-Killeen areas; and should stay in the "Good" range for the majority of the Amarillo and Lubbock areas. The daily PM10 AQI may reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Austin, Brownsville-McAllen, Corpus Christi, Houston, and San Antonio areas and the upper end of the "Good" range in parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth area as well.

Slightly elevated urban fine particulate levels associated with light daytime winds and limited morning 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.

Warm to hot temperatures, light winds, sufficient afternoon sunshine, and/or elevated incoming background levels could be enough for ozone to reach the middle to upper end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth area; the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the El Paso area; and should stay in the "Good" range for the majority of the Amarillo, Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Big Bend, Bryan-College Station, Corpus Christi, Houston, Laredo, Lubbock, Midland-Odessa, San Antonio, Tyler-Longview, and Waco-Killeen areas.

The moderately dense plume of Saharan dust is forecast push over most of Texas with the exception of far West Texas and may begin to slightly weaken and disperse over the state. Meanwhile, depending on the amount of fire burning activities, volcanic emissions, and industrial activities throughout Central and Southern Mexico as well as the Yucatán Peninsula, very light amounts of light density residual smoke and industrial aerosols may continue filtering over deep South Texas, the Coastal Plains, along the lower Rio Grande Valley, and portions of South Central and Southeast Texas, however these aerosols should remain mostly aloft. Also depending on the amount of small, seasonal burning activities across portions of East, Southeast, South Central Texas, and along the Coastal Plains, very light density residual smoke may continue to slightly enhance fine particulate background levels across these regions. Elevated relative humidity levels over most of the state with the exception of far West Texas are expected to continue slightly enhancing fine particulate background levels too. Additionally, fine urban particulate levels owing to limited dispersion from light winds over North Central, Northeast, South Central, and Southeast Texas may contribute towards raising PM2.5 levels in parts of these regions as well. Overall, the daily PM2.5 AQI may reach lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Big Bend, Brownsville-McAllen, Bryan-College Station, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Laredo, Midland-Odessa, San Antonio, Tyler-Longview, Victoria, and Waco-Killeen areas and should stay in the "Good" range for the majority of the Amarillo and Lubbock areas. The daily PM10 AQI may reach the upper end of the "Good" range in parts of the Austin, Brownsville-McAllen, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio areas as well.

Light daytime winds and lower morning vertical mixing heights, limiting pollutant dispersion, along with some light urban pollutant carryover from the previous days, may keep the daily PM2.5 and PM10 AQIs at the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the El Paso area.

Warm to hot temperatures, light winds, 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 El Paso areas and should stay in the "Good" range for the majority of the Amarillo, Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Big Bend, Bryan-College Station, Corpus Christi, Houston, Laredo, Lubbock, Midland-Odessa, San Antonio, Tyler-Longview, and Waco-Killeen areas.

The plume of Saharan dust is forecast continue weakening across the state to where little should remain by the end of the day. Meanwhile, depending on the amount of fire burning activities, volcanic emissions, and industrial activities throughout Central and Southern Mexico as well as the Yucatán Peninsula, very light amounts of light density residual smoke and industrial aerosols may continue filtering over deep South Texas, the Coastal Plains, along the lower Rio Grande Valley, and portions of South Central and Southeast Texas, however these aerosols should continue to remain mostly aloft. Also depending on the amount of small, seasonal burning activities across portions of East, Southeast, South Central Texas, and along the Coastal Plains, very light density residual smoke may continue to slightly enhance fine particulate background levels across these regions. Depending on the burning activities of the many wildfires across central and western Canada, northeastern British Columbia, northern Alberta, the southern Northwest Territories, central Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and western Ontario, a cold front may steer light amounts of the residual smoke towards Texas and may begin to filter over portions of the Texas Panhandle and North Central Texas, however these aerosols should remain mostly aloft. Slightly elevated relative humidity levels over most of the state with the exception of far West Texas are expected to continue enhancing fine particulate background levels too. Additionally, fine urban particulate levels owing to limited dispersion from light winds over North Central, Northeast, South Central, and Southeast Texas may contribute towards raising PM2.5 levels in parts of these regions as well. Overall, the daily PM2.5 AQI may reach lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Big Bend, Brownsville-McAllen, Bryan-College Station, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Laredo, Midland-Odessa, San Antonio, Tyler-Longview, Victoria, and Waco-Killeen areas and should stay in the "Good" range for the majority of the Amarillo and Lubbock areas.

Fine urban particulate levels owing to limited dispersion from light daytime winds and limited morning vertical mixing, along with some light urban pollutant carryover from the previous days, may keep the daily PM2.5 and PM10 AQIs at the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the El Paso area.

Warm to hot temperatures, light winds, sufficient afternoon sunshine, and/or elevated incoming background levels could be enough for ozone to reach the lower to middle of the "Moderate" range in parts of the El Paso area and should stay in the "Good" range for the majority of the Amarillo, Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Big Bend, Bryan-College Station, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Laredo, Lubbock, Midland-Odessa, San Antonio, Tyler-Longview, and Waco-Killeen areas.

Depending on the burning activities of the many wildfires across central and western Canada, northeastern British Columbia, northern Alberta, the southern Northwest Territories, central Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and western Ontario, light amounts of the residual smoke may continue to filter mainly over the Texas Panhandle, North Central and Northeast Texas as the aforementioned cold front is forecast to move over North Central and South Central Texas, however these aerosols should remain mostly aloft. Meanwhile, depending on the amount of fire burning activities, volcanic emissions, and industrial activities throughout Central and Southern Mexico as well as the Yucatán Peninsula, very light amounts of light density residual smoke and industrial aerosols may continue filtering over deep South Texas, the Coastal Plains, along the lower Rio Grande Valley, and portions of South Central and Southeast Texas, however these aerosols should continue to remain mostly aloft. Slightly elevated relative humidity levels over most of the state with the exception of far West Texas are expected to continue enhancing fine particulate background levels too. Additionally, fine urban particulate levels owing to limited dispersion from light winds over North Central, Northeast, South Central, and Southeast Texas may contribute towards raising PM2.5 levels in parts of these regions as well. While rain showers associated with the cold front will help washout some of these fine particulates, the overall daily PM2.5 AQI may still reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Austin, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Brownsville-McAllen, Bryan-College Station, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Laredo, San Antonio, Tyler-Longview, Victoria, and Waco-Killeen areas and should stay in the "Good" range for the majority of the Amarillo, Big Bend, Lubbock, and Midland-Odessa areas.

Fine urban particulate levels owing to limited dispersion from light daytime winds and limited morning vertical mixing, along with some light urban pollutant carryover from the previous days, may keep the daily PM2.5 and PM10 AQIs at the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the El Paso area.