Dust / Smoke

Honesty note: CAMS separates dust (desert surface class) from smoke/haze aloft (high AOD, low dust) reliably. Which desert or whose fire is seasonal inference only — Saharan-typical May–Sep on the coast; West Texas dust when only Lubbock/Midland/Abilene are dusty; Mexico ag-fire smoke typical Apr–Jun; Canadian wildfire smoke typical Jul–Sep. We never claim more than that.

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Today + 5-day forecast (Weighted ERCOT)
TODAY ·fcst
Clear
AOD 0.18 · dust 0
int 0/3
09-21 ·fcst
Hazy
AOD 0.20 · dust 0
int 1/3
09-22 ·fcst
Hazy
AOD 0.20 · dust 0
int 1/3
09-23 ·fcst
Smoke (Canadian wildfire typical Jul-Sep)
AOD 0.32 · dust 0
int 2/3
09-24 ·fcst
Hazy
AOD 0.28 · dust 0
int 1/3
09-25 ·fcst
Clear
AOD — · dust —
int 0/3
Worst dust city today
Lubbock
Dust 3 µg/m³ · AOD 0.12 · Clear
2026-09-20 (forecast)
Worst US AQI city today
Houston
US AQI 67 · dust 0
2026-09-20 (forecast)
2025-02 day-by-day
Date Event AOD Dust PM2.5 Worst city Kind
02-01 Clear 0.10 1 18 Lubbock (13) actual
02-02 Clear 0.13 2 13 Midland (19) actual
02-03 Clear 0.15 2 11 Midland (18) actual
02-04 Hazy 0.24 0 12 Lubbock (1) actual
02-05 Hazy 0.26 1 13 Lubbock (16) actual
02-06 Hazy 0.24 2 13 Lubbock (22) actual
02-07 Hazy 0.26 2 15 Lubbock (18) actual
02-08 Hazy 0.20 2 13 Lubbock (18) actual
02-09 Smoke / haze aloft 0.32 0 15 Lubbock (1) actual
02-10 Smoke / haze aloft 0.44 0 15 Abilene (0) actual
02-11 Smoke / haze aloft 0.50 0 12 Lubbock (4) actual
02-12 Smoke / haze aloft 0.47 4 12 Midland (41) actual
02-13 Smoke / haze aloft 0.30 3 18 Lubbock (19) actual
02-14 Smoke / haze aloft 0.33 3 23 Lubbock (8) actual
02-15 Smoke / haze aloft 0.34 3 18 Midland (20) actual
02-16 Clear 0.12 1 11 San Antonio (3) actual
02-17 Clear 0.19 2 11 McAllen (6) actual
02-18 Smoke / haze aloft 0.31 1 13 Lubbock (3) actual
02-19 Clear 0.17 0 9 Lubbock (1) actual
02-20 Clear 0.16 0 10 Lubbock (2) actual
02-21 Clear 0.19 1 13 Abilene (1) actual
02-22 Hazy 0.22 1 22 Lubbock (4) actual
02-23 Hazy 0.26 1 24 Lubbock (3) actual
02-24 Clear 0.11 2 21 Midland (9) actual
02-25 Clear 0.10 3 16 Midland (18) actual
02-26 Clear 0.18 1 10 Lubbock (3) actual
02-27 Hazy 0.25 1 14 Lubbock (10) actual
02-28 Clear 0.18 1 19 Lubbock (2) actual
All-time top dust days
Date City Dust AOD Class
2024-07-13 Brownsville 118 0.41 Saharan dust
2024-03-24 Midland 110 0.23 Desert dust
2026-09-15 Corpus Christi 110 0.31 Saharan dust
2024-07-13 McAllen 105 0.48 Saharan dust
2026-09-15 Brownsville 96 0.35 Saharan dust
2024-02-03 Midland 95 0.20 Desert dust
2024-07-30 Corpus Christi 95 0.40 Saharan dust
2024-07-31 Corpus Christi 94 0.40 Saharan dust
2026-06-29 Tyler 93 0.32 Saharan dust
2024-07-01 Corpus Christi 92 0.33 Saharan dust
All-time top smoke days (dust < 10)
Date City AOD Dust Class
2024-06-02 Tyler 1.86 3 Smoke (Mexico ag fires typical Apr-Jun)
2024-05-16 Houston 1.70 2 Smoke (Mexico ag fires typical Apr-Jun)
2024-05-28 DFW 1.45 3 Smoke (Mexico ag fires typical Apr-Jun)
2024-05-02 Tyler 1.39 1 Smoke (Mexico ag fires typical Apr-Jun)
2024-05-22 Tyler 1.32 1 Smoke (Mexico ag fires typical Apr-Jun)
2025-04-19 DFW 1.23 1 Smoke (Mexico ag fires typical Apr-Jun)
2025-04-19 Wichita Falls 1.23 1 Smoke (Mexico ag fires typical Apr-Jun)
2024-05-29 Abilene 1.22 1 Smoke (Mexico ag fires typical Apr-Jun)
2024-05-13 Houston 1.21 1 Smoke (Mexico ag fires typical Apr-Jun)
2024-05-30 Abilene 1.21 2 Smoke (Mexico ag fires typical Apr-Jun)

Plan 3 Part D2 · Classifier heuristics in config (AIR_DUST_UG_MIN etc.) · Data from CityAir / DailyAir (CAMS via Open-Meteo).