Hazed and confused: Why so hazy, so early, so often in the Brazos Valley this summer

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – We have been talking about this for a while now. Other than a couple days here and there, Brazos Valley skies have been hazy for the better part of a month.

The culprit? Several different things, but it starts (and continues) with agriculture burning and wildfire smoke that continues to drift our way from Mexico and Central America.

Many of you have asked, rightfully so, why this doesn’t happen every year? Why is it so persistent? And why won’t it go away? All legitimate questions that can likely be attributed to a couple different wildly abnormal weather patterns that we had to finish spring and go into summer.

As mentioned in the article earlier in May, the stage was set with a VERY wet late April and May. Added, lingering moisture in the air makes particulate matter (like smoke, or dust) “cling” to the air and become more visible. The scheduled agricultural burning led to our first round of haze thanks to a southerly flow in the low/mid levels from across the Gulf of Mexico into our backyard.

Relentless heat dome will not only continue for at-least the next 10 days, and intensify by later this week, with a 4+ Sigma (standard deviations) peak. It will be most intense over Mexico. https://t.co/A9kQFstFUT pic.twitter.com/Tq0W6lODCs

— Jeff Berardelli (@WeatherProf) May 21, 2024

Fast forward a month: We’ve been battered with storm after storm all across Texas. Why? A historic, record-breaking “heat dome” of air (also known as a ridge of high pressure) that PLANTED itself over Mexico and did not move for over two weeks. Just on the outside edge of this ridge, disturbances zipped overhead, supplied by ample moisture and heat energy, in large part thanks to this ridge just to our south.

This exacerbated our storms (leaving the added humidity), and very likely fueled ongoing intentional and unintentional fires, lofting more smoke and particulate matter into the state of Texas. So, here we sit, a month after the haze first appeared, with plenty more to sift through, at least for now.

What’s next?

According to Airnow.gov, much of the state of Texas is teetering between the “yellow” and “orange” category for air quality, in large part thanks to smoke and local pollutants. Minor hits to air quality can be noted in this pattern, especially for those of us with sensitive airways (seasonal allergies, asthma, emphysema).

At least a brief break from the haze can happen with additional precipitation (possible as early as Wednesday) and as a weak front brings a northerly low/mid-level wind to our area, likely blowing smoke away from us for at least a few days.

However, with the prevailing surface and low-level wind from the south around this time of year, and no end in sight for the drought in Mexico/Central America (unless tropical season has something to say about that), it doesn’t seem farfetched to forecast a mainly hazy next several weeks in the Brazos Valley.

Don’t forget, June is often the first month of the summer where Saharan Dust Plumes also try to “milk up” Texas skies.