Techniques are presented for skew exception detection within a parallel processing environment. A potential exception is detected when a highest load of a processor within the parallel processing environment exceeds an average load within the parallel processing environment by a given threshold. The potential exception can become a legitimate exception when it exists for a qualified period or time or when it exists and no qualified period of time is noted. In an embodiment, checks for the potential exception occur and are wholly contained within a given configurable interval.