Today's Texas Air Quality Forecast
The latest forecast for air quality conditions in Texas' metropolitan areas.
January 18, 2017
|
Forecast based on EPA's Air Quality Index (AQI)
|
 |
| Forecast Region (Click name for AIRNOW version) |
Wed 01/18/2017 |
Thu 01/19/2017 |
Fri 01/20/2017 |
Sat 01/21/2017 |
| Austin | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| Beaumont-Port Arthur | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| Brownsville-McAllen | Good | Good | PM2.5 | PM2.5 |
| Corpus Christi | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | PM2.5 | Good | Good | Good |
| El Paso | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| Houston | PM2.5 | PM2.5 | PM2.5 | PM2.5 |
| Laredo | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| Lubbock | Good | Good | PM10 | PM10 |
| Midland-Odessa | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| San Antonio | Good | Good | PM2.5 | Good |
| Tyler-Longview | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| Victoria | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| Waco-Killeen | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| Discussion |
| Wednesday 01/18/2017 Slightly elevated background levels associated with a continental air mass combined with sufficient local add-on from light winds and limited vertical mixing could be enough to allow the daily PM.5 AQI to reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in isolated parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston areas, though intermittent precipitation should reduce fine particulate levels at times so that most of the region remains in the "Good" range overall for the day. Elsewhere in the state, moderate winds, cool temperatures, heavy cloud cover with precipitation, and/or lower incoming background levels should help to keep air quality in the "Good" range. Thursday 01/19/2017 Slightly elevated background levels associated with a continental air mass combined with sufficient local add-on from continued light winds could be enough to allow the daily PM.5 AQI to reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Houston area, with highest concentrations in the morning and evening. Strong afternoon winds could generate and transport light amounts of patchy blowing dust at times into parts of the southern Panhandle and Permian Basin, including the Lubbock and Midland-Odessa areas, though the duration and intensity is not expected to be enough to raise the daily PM10 AQI beyond the "Good" range overall. Elsewhere in the state, moderate winds, cool temperatures, heavy cloud cover with precipitation, and/or lower incoming background levels should help to keep air quality in the "Good" range. Friday 01/20/2017 Outlook Strong afternoon winds should generate and transport light amounts of blowing dust into parts of West Texas and the Panhandle, potentially raising the daily PM10 AQI into the "Moderate" range in the Lubbock area, though the limited duration and intensity in the remaining parts of this region should be enough to keep air quality in the "Good" range, including the in Amarillo, El Paso, and Midland-Odessa areas. Slightly elevated background levels associated with a continental air mass combined with sufficient local add-on from continued light winds could be enough to allow the daily PM.5 AQI to reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Houston and San Antonio areas, with highest concentrations in the morning and evening. Additionally, incoming background levels may begin increasing in deep South Texas as patchy light smoke from agricultural and industrial burning in Mexico, Central America, and the Gulf of Mexico is expected to return, possibly raising the daily PM2.5 AQI into the lower end of the "Moderate" range in the Brownsville-McAllen area. Elsewhere in the state, moderate winds, lingering cloud cover, and/or lower incoming background levels should help to keep air quality in the "Good" range. Saturday 01/21/2017 Outlook Strong afternoon winds should generate and transport light amounts of blowing dust into parts of West Texas and the Panhandle, potentially raising the daily PM10 AQI into the "Moderate" range in the Lubbock area, though the limited duration, intensity, and/or associated precipitation in the remaining parts of this region should be enough to keep air quality in the "Good" range, including the in Amarillo, El Paso, and Midland-Odessa areas. Slightly elevated background levels associated with a continental air mass combined with sufficient local add-on from continued light winds could be enough to allow the daily PM.5 AQI to reach the lower end of the "Moderate" range in parts of the Houston area, with highest concentrations in the morning and evening. Additionally, slightly elevated incoming background levels should persist in deep South Texas as patchy light smoke from agricultural and industrial burning in Mexico, Central America, and the Gulf of Mexico continues, possibly raising the daily PM2.5 AQI into the lower end of the "Moderate" range in the Brownsville-McAllen area. Elsewhere in the state, moderate winds and/or lower incoming background levels should help to keep air quality in the "Good" range. |
This forecast was last updated at 9:25 am on Wednesday, January 18th, 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.
How are we doing? Take our customer satisfaction survey