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.

« »
Today + 5-day forecast (Weighted ERCOT)
TODAY ·fcst
Clear
AOD 0.19 · dust 0
int 0/3
09-20 ·fcst
Clear
AOD 0.19 · dust 0
int 0/3
09-21 ·fcst
Clear
AOD 0.19 · dust 0
int 0/3
09-22 ·fcst
Clear
AOD 0.17 · dust 0
int 0/3
09-23 ·fcst
Clear
AOD 0.18 · dust 0
int 0/3
09-24 ·fcst
Clear
AOD — · dust —
int 0/3
Worst dust city today
Lubbock
Dust 1 µg/m³ · AOD 0.14 · Clear
2026-09-19 (forecast)
Worst US AQI city today
Houston
US AQI 88 · dust 0
2026-09-19 (forecast)
2026-08 day-by-day
Date Event AOD Dust PM2.5 Worst city Kind
08-01 Hazy 0.30 3 14 Lubbock (13) actual
08-02 Hazy 0.27 2 17 Brownsville (14) actual
08-03 Hazy 0.26 12 17 Brownsville (43) actual
08-04 Saharan dust 0.36 25 25 Houston (50) actual
08-05 Saharan dust 0.37 28 25 Houston (62) actual
08-06 Smoke (Canadian wildfire typical Jul-Sep) 0.34 9 17 Tyler (22) actual
08-07 Hazy 0.24 3 13 Tyler (8) actual
08-08 Hazy 0.26 3 14 McAllen (5) actual
08-09 Hazy 0.25 1 13 Wichita Falls (3) actual
08-10 Hazy 0.23 5 12 McAllen (18) actual
08-11 Clear 0.20 6 12 Corpus Christi (11) actual
08-12 Clear 0.12 1 7 McAllen (7) actual
08-13 Clear 0.19 17 13 Houston (39) actual
08-14 Saharan dust 0.24 21 17 Houston (40) actual
08-15 Hazy 0.26 18 18 McAllen (27) actual
08-16 Clear 0.19 6 18 Midland (9) actual
08-17 Clear 0.14 2 11 Brownsville (6) actual
08-18 Clear 0.16 3 10 Corpus Christi (13) actual
08-19 Clear 0.17 5 11 San Antonio (14) actual
08-20 Clear 0.19 8 15 Brownsville (24) actual
08-21 Hazy 0.23 16 18 Houston (30) actual
08-22 Hazy 0.24 15 18 Austin (24) actual
08-23 Clear 0.20 6 16 Corpus Christi (12) actual
08-24 Clear 0.18 3 11 Brownsville (7) actual
08-25 Hazy 0.26 4 14 McAllen (12) actual
08-26 Smoke (Canadian wildfire typical Jul-Sep) 0.34 7 19 McAllen (56) actual
08-27 Smoke (Canadian wildfire typical Jul-Sep) 0.43 2 23 McAllen (4) actual
08-28 Smoke (Canadian wildfire typical Jul-Sep) 0.33 1 21 San Antonio (3) actual
08-29 Hazy 0.22 1 16 Abilene (1) actual
08-30 Clear 0.19 4 13 McAllen (27) actual
08-31 Hazy 0.24 12 17 Brownsville (45) 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).