Atoka County, Oklahoma Air Quality
The nearest reporting area, McAlester, measured an index of 44 this hour, which is Good. Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality forecasts Good for McAlester today and Good tomorrow. NOAA’s analysts drew light wildfire smoke over the town today.
- Measured now
- 44 · Good
- Today
- 45 · Good
- Tomorrow
- 45 · Good
- Pollutant
- Ozone
Fine particles on the map
Forecast fine particulate matter from NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability over Atoka County, Oklahoma. Open it for the live map, where it pans and zooms.























Open the live map with the particulate forecast
Map layer from NOAA National Air Quality Forecast Capability. Boundaries from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.
Alerts in force
An Air Quality Alert is issued by the National Weather Service on behalf of a state or local agency when pollution is expected to reach a level that harms health. An Air Stagnation Advisory means the air will not move enough to clear what is already in it.
None are in force near Atoka County right now. All Oklahoma warnings.
Now
Good
- Reporting area
- McAlester, OK, 41 miles away
- Reported by
- Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality
- Area index
- 44 · Good
Measured, not modeled. AirNow observations are preliminary until the operating agency certifies them, which happens months later.
Today and tomorrow
Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality's own forecast for McAlester, written by a forecaster rather than read off a model.
| Day | Category | Index | Pollutant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Today | Good | 45 | Ozone |
| Tomorrow | Good | 45 | Ozone |
| Friday, September 25 | Good | 50 | Ozone |
| Saturday, September 26 | Good | 50 | Ozone |
| Sunday, September 27 | Moderate | 55 | Ozone |
| Monday, September 28 | Good | 50 | Ozone |
The forecaster’s discussion
Written by Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality for McAlester and filed with AirNow.
Temperatures are slowly returning to more seasonable levels across Oklahoma following the collapse of the heat dome. However, conditions are remaining warm, with high temperatures into the 90s, which will support ozone formation statewide. Ozone concentrations are expected to reach the Moderate/Yellow category in the latter half of this week for all parts of Oklahoma except the southeast portion of the state. Additionally, particulate matter concentrations into the Moderate category are expected along the I-35 corridor and in the Tulsa area by the end of this week. Storm chances are ongoing for this week through the weekend, with the potential for rainfall to provide localized air quality improvement.
Hour by hour
NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability, bias-corrected against monitors, for this town’s own coordinate. The worst hour ahead is an index of 57, Moderate, around Fri, 11:00 AM CDT, from the run issued Wed, 7:00 AM CDT. This is a model, not a measurement.
| Hour | Index | Category | PM2.5 | Ozone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed, 9:00 AM CDT | 34 | Good | 6.6 | |
| Wed, 10:00 AM CDT | 39 | Good | 8.2 | |
| Wed, 11:00 AM CDT | 44 | Good | 8.9 | |
| Wed, 12:00 PM CDT | 47 | Good | 9.3 | |
| Wed, 1:00 PM CDT | 49 | Good | 9.3 | |
| Wed, 2:00 PM CDT | 50 | Good | 9.2 | |
| Wed, 3:00 PM CDT | 50 | Good | 9.1 | 40.5 |
| Wed, 4:00 PM CDT | 50 | Good | 9.1 | 43.7 |
| Wed, 5:00 PM CDT | 48 | Good | 8.2 | 46.2 |
| Wed, 6:00 PM CDT | 46 | Good | 7.8 | 47.8 |
| Wed, 7:00 PM CDT | 44 | Good | 7.3 | 48.4 |
| Wed, 8:00 PM CDT | 44 | Good | 6.6 | 47.4 |
| Wed, 9:00 PM CDT | 44 | Good | 8.5 | 45.6 |
| Wed, 10:00 PM CDT | 41 | Good | 6.2 | 43.4 |
| Wed, 11:00 PM CDT | 40 | Good | 7.3 | 40.9 |
| Thu, 12:00 AM CDT | 42 | Good | 8 | 38.1 |
| Thu, 1:00 AM CDT | 43 | Good | 8.3 | 35.2 |
| Thu, 2:00 AM CDT | 44 | Good | 8.3 | 32.6 |
| Thu, 3:00 AM CDT | 44 | Good | 8.4 | 30.5 |
| Thu, 4:00 AM CDT | 45 | Good | 8.6 | 29.1 |
| Thu, 5:00 AM CDT | 46 | Good | 8.3 | 28 |
| Thu, 6:00 AM CDT | 45 | Good | 8.1 | 27 |
| Thu, 7:00 AM CDT | 44 | Good | 7.7 | 26 |
| Thu, 8:00 AM CDT | 44 | Good | 7.9 | 25.2 |
| Thu, 9:00 AM CDT | 45 | Good | 8.6 | 25.1 |
| Thu, 10:00 AM CDT | 48 | Good | 9.9 | 25.9 |
| Thu, 11:00 AM CDT | 50 | Good | 10.2 | 27.4 |
| Thu, 12:00 PM CDT | 51 | Moderate | 9.9 | 29.9 |
| Thu, 1:00 PM CDT | 51 | Moderate | 9.5 | 32.9 |
| Thu, 2:00 PM CDT | 51 | Moderate | 9.1 | 36.2 |
| Thu, 3:00 PM CDT | 51 | Moderate | 9 | 39.9 |
| Thu, 4:00 PM CDT | 50 | Good | 8.5 | 43.6 |
| Thu, 5:00 PM CDT | 48 | Good | 7.9 | 46.8 |
| Thu, 6:00 PM CDT | 46 | Good | 7.5 | 48.9 |
| Thu, 7:00 PM CDT | 45 | Good | 7.2 | 49.5 |
| Thu, 8:00 PM CDT | 44 | Good | 7.1 | 48.5 |
| Thu, 9:00 PM CDT | 43 | Good | 7.9 | 46.9 |
| Thu, 10:00 PM CDT | 42 | Good | 7.1 | 44.8 |
| Thu, 11:00 PM CDT | 41 | Good | 7.3 | 42.3 |
| Fri, 12:00 AM CDT | 42 | Good | 7.9 | 39.6 |
| Fri, 1:00 AM CDT | 43 | Good | 8.5 | 37 |
| Fri, 2:00 AM CDT | 44 | Good | 8.8 | 34.5 |
| Fri, 3:00 AM CDT | 46 | Good | 9.2 | 32.6 |
| Fri, 4:00 AM CDT | 48 | Good | 9.6 | 31.3 |
| Fri, 5:00 AM CDT | 51 | Moderate | 10 | 30.1 |
| Fri, 6:00 AM CDT | 52 | Moderate | 10.3 | 29.1 |
| Fri, 7:00 AM CDT | 52 | Moderate | 10.6 | 28.1 |
| Fri, 8:00 AM CDT | 54 | Moderate | 11.5 | 27.2 |
| Fri, 9:00 AM CDT | 55 | Moderate | 12.3 | 27.3 |
| Fri, 10:00 AM CDT | 56 | Moderate | 12.9 | 28.5 |
| Fri, 11:00 AM CDT | 57 | Moderate | 13.2 | 30.8 |
| Fri, 12:00 PM CDT | 57 | Moderate | 12.7 | 34 |
| Fri, 1:00 PM CDT | 57 | Moderate | 12.1 | 37.5 |
| Fri, 2:00 PM CDT | 56 | Moderate | 10.8 | 41.4 |
| Fri, 3:00 PM CDT | 55 | Moderate | 10.8 | 45.6 |
| Fri, 4:00 PM CDT | 55 | Moderate | 10.6 | 49.8 |
| Fri, 5:00 PM CDT | 55 | Moderate | 10 | 53.2 |
| Fri, 6:00 PM CDT | 54 | Moderate | 10.4 | 55.2 |
| Fri, 7:00 PM CDT | 54 | Moderate | 10.6 | 55.8 |
| Fri, 8:00 PM CDT | 54 | Moderate | 10.2 | 55 |
| Fri, 9:00 PM CDT | 54 | Moderate | 11.4 | 53.6 |
| Fri, 10:00 PM CDT | 54 | Moderate | 10 | 51.8 |
| Fri, 11:00 PM CDT | 53 | Moderate | 9.9 | 49.5 |
| Sat, 12:00 AM CDT | 53 | Moderate | 10 | 46.9 |
| Sat, 1:00 AM CDT | 53 | Moderate | 10.3 | 43.9 |
| Sat, 2:00 AM CDT | 53 | Moderate | 10.3 | 40.9 |
| Sat, 3:00 AM CDT | 53 | Moderate | 10.1 | 38.5 |
| Sat, 4:00 AM CDT | 53 | Moderate | 10.1 | 36.5 |
| Sat, 5:00 AM CDT | 53 | Moderate | 9.6 | 34.6 |
| Sat, 6:00 AM CDT | 52 | Moderate | 9.1 | 32.9 |
| Sat, 7:00 AM CDT | 52 | Moderate | 9.1 | 31.2 |
Fine particles in micrograms per cubic meter, ozone in parts per billion as an 8-hour average. The index for each hour is EPA’s: the ozone figure is already the 8-hour average the ozone index is defined on, and the particle figure is run through EPA’s NowCast, which is how an hourly PM2.5 concentration becomes an index.
Smoke
NOAA’s Hazard Mapping System analysts drew light smoke over Atoka County in satellite imagery today (Wed, 7:00 AM CDT to Wed, 10:00 AM CDT). That is smoke seen from above; it is not always smoke at ground level.
NOAA’s model forecasts near-surface smoke peaking at 0.5 µg/m³ around Wed, 3:00 PM CDT.
What this means
Good
Air quality is satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk.
- Who is affected
- Nobody is expected to be affected.
- What to do
- It is a good day to be outside.
- Index range
- 0 to 50
Category descriptions are the Environmental Protection Agency’s own.
What these numbers are. An index beside a monitor’s name is a measurement, published hourly by AirNow and preliminary until the operating agency certifies it. A category for today or tomorrow is a state or local agency forecaster’s own forecast for a reporting area. An hourly index is NOAA’s air quality model on a five-kilometer grid, not a reading from any instrument. Where a town has no monitor within reach, only the model figures appear, and the page says so.
Nearby
The nearest towns with a page of their own, closest first.
Weather forecast for Atoka CountyWarnings in Atoka CountyLive radar over Atoka CountyOklahoma air quality
Sources
Observations and daily forecasts from AirNow, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s program with NOAA, the National Park Service, NASA, tribal, state and local agencies. Hourly forecasts from NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability. Smoke analysis from NOAA’s Hazard Mapping System. Alerts from the National Weather Service. Index categories and breakpoints are EPA’s, as revised in 2024.