Why the haze? Humidity, wildfire smoke from Mexico among reasons for milky skies this week
BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – It seems like ever since the rain stopped, the haze started. In a lot of ways, that’s true! Hazy skies have stubbornly stuck around the Brazos Valley for the greater part of the week, and will likely be with us for one more day before Thursday evening’s front arrives.
Why the haze?? An inversion in the lower levels of the atmosphere is “trapping” particulate matter closer to the surface, and the added humidity is making it easier to see.
The reason — humidity, the cap, a little this and that (pollen, smog from cars, and other local pollutants), and smoke from agricultural burning in Southern Mexico and Central America.
As farmers prepare for their growing season, they burn old crops to make room for new ones and add nutrients to the soil. This smoke can travel all the way across the Gulf of Mexico and into the US through early summer.
Meanwhile, with a “cap” in place, some of that smoke in the lower levels of the atmosphere gets trapped closer to the surface. With all that added moisture, along with our own local pollutants, particulate matter stays near the ground and becomes much easier to see.
Why the haze?? An inversion in the lower levels of the atmosphere is “trapping” particulate matter closer to the surface, and the added humidity is making it easier to see.
Minor hits to air quality can be noted in this pattern, especially for those of us with sensitive airways (seasonal allergies, asthma, emphysema). This haze will be cleared out with Thursday’s front and likely stay away through the weekend and likely into next week as more unsettled weather returns.
Why the haze?? An inversion in the lower levels of the atmosphere is “trapping” particulate matter closer to the surface, and the added humidity is making it easier to see.
