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Dew point
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The dew point is the temperature to which a given parcel of air must be cooled, at constant barometric pressure, for water vapor to condense into water. The condensed water is called dew. The dew point is a saturation point. When the dew point temperature falls below freezing it is often called the frost point, as the water vapor no longer creates dew but instead creates frost or hoarfrost by deposition. The dew point is associated with relative humidity. A high relative humidity indicates that the dew point is closer to the current air temperature. Relative humidity of 100% indicates the dew point is equal to the current temperature and the air is maximally saturated with water. When the dew point remains constant and temperature increases, relative humidity will decrease. [1]

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At a given barometric pressure, independent of temperature, the dew point indicates the mole fraction of water vapor in the air, and therefore determines the specific humidity of the air. The dew point is an important statistic for general aviation pilots, as it is used to calculate the likelihood of carburetor icing and fog, and estimate the height of the cloud base.
Contents [hide] 1 Constant pressure 2 Varying pressure 3 Comfort range 4 Calculating the dew point 4.1 Simple approximation 4.2 Closer approximation 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

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Constant pressure
At a given barometric pressure, independent of temperature, the dew point indicates the mole fraction of water vapor in the air, or, put differently, determines the specific humidity of the air. If the barometric pressure rises without changing this mole fraction, the dew point will rise accordingly, and water condenses at a higher temperature. Reducing the mole fraction, i.e. making the air drier, will bring the dew point back down to its initial value. In the same way, increasing the mole fraction after a pressure drop brings the dew point back up to its initial level. For this reason, the same dew point in New York, NY and Denver, CO (which is at a much higher altitude) will imply that a higher

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Dew point - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Norsk (bokml) Norsk (nynorsk) Polski Portugus Romn Simple English Slovenina Slovenina Soran / Suomi Svenska Trke Ting Vit

fraction of the air in Denver consists of water vapor than in New York.

Varying pressure

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At a given temperature but independent of barometric pressure, the dew point indicates the absolute humidity of the air. If the temperature rises without changing the absolute humidity, the dew point will rise accordingly, and water condenses at a higher pressure. Reducing the absolute humidity will bring the dew point back down to its initial value. In the same way, increasing the absolute humidity after a temperature drop brings the dew point back up to its initial level. Coming back to the New York - Denver example, this means that if the dew point and temperature in both cities are the same, then the mass of water vapor per cubic meter of air will also be the same in those cities.

This graph shows the maximum percentage (by mass) of water vapor that can exist in air at sea level across a range of temperatures. The behavior of water vapor does not depend on the presence of other gases in air. The formation of dew would occur at the dew point even if the only gas present is water vapor.

Comfort range

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Humans tend to react with discomfort to a high dew point (i.e. greater than 15 C (59 F)), as it interferes with the body's normal process of perspiring (producing sweat) to cool down. High relative humidity (which results in a high dew point) impedes the evaporation of sweat and reduces the effectiveness of evaporative cooling. As a result, the body may overheat, resulting in discomfort. Discomfort also exists when dealing with low dew points (i.e below 30 C (22.0 F)). The drier air can cause skin to crack and become irritated more easily. Lower dew points, less than 10 C (50 F), correlate with lower ambient temperatures, and the body requires less cooling. A lower dew point can go along with a high temperature only at extremely low relative humidity (see graph below), allowing for relative effective cooling. Those accustomed to continental climates often begin to feel uncomfortable when the dew point reaches between 15 and 20 C (59 and 68 F). Most inhabitants of these areas will consider dew points above 21 C (70 F) oppressive. Dew Point C Dew Point F Human Perception [1] Rel. Humidity at 90 F (32 C) 65% and higher

>Higher than >Higher than Severely high. Even deadly for asthma 26C 80F related illnesses 24 - 26C 21 - 24C 75 - 80F 70 - 74F

Extremely uncomfortable, fairly oppressive 62% Very humid, quite uncomfortable 52% - 60%

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Dew point - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

18 - 21C 16 - 18C 13 - 16C 10 - 12C <10C

65 - 69F 60 - 64F 55 - 59F 50 - 54F <49F

Somewhat uncomfortable for most people at upper edge OK for most, but all perceive the humidity at upper edge Comfortable Very comfortable A bit dry for some

44% - 52% 37% - 46% 31% - 41% 31% - 37% 30%

A dew point of 35 C (95 F) was reported in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia at 3 p.m. July 8, 2003. The temperature was 42 C (108 F), resulting in an apparent temperature or heat index of 80 C (176 F). [2]

Calculating the dew point

see also Psychrometric_chart for bldg. engineer's graphic method A well-known approximation used to calculate the dew point Td given the relative humidity RH and the actual temperature T of air is:

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where

where the temperatures are in degrees Celsius and "ln" refers to the natural logarithm. The constants are: a = 17.271 b = 237.7 C This expression is based on the August-Roche-Magnus approximation for the saturation vapor pressure of water in air as a function of temperature.[3] It is considered valid for 0 C < T < 60 C 1% < RH < 100% 0 C < Td < 50 C

Graph of the dependence of the dewpoint upon air temperature for several levels of relative humidity. Based on the August-RocheMagnus approximation.

Simple approximation

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There is also a very simple approximation which allows conversion between the dew point, the dry bulb temperature and the relative humidity, which is accurate to within about 1 C as long as the relative humidity is above 50%. The equation is:

or

RH = 100 5(T Td ).
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Dew point - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This can be expressed as a simple rule of thumb:

For every 1 C difference in the dew point and dry bulb temperatures, the relative humidity decreases by 5%, starting with RH=100% when the dew point equals the dry bulb temperature.

where in this case RH is in percent, and T and Td are in degrees Celsius. The derivation of this, a discussion of its accuracy, comparisons to other approximations, and more information on the history and applications of the dew point are given in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. [4] In Fahrenheit.

For example, a relative humidity of 100% means dew point is same as air temp. For 90% RH dew point is 3 degrees Fahrenheit lower than air temp. For every 10 percent lower, dew point drops 3 F. TFd is in degrees Fahrenheit; RH same as above.

Closer approximation
A calculation used by NOAA is:[5]

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where: RH is relative humidity and

Td is dew point in degrees Celsius

T and Tw are the dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperatures respectively in degrees Celsius e s is the saturated water vapor pressure, in units of millibar, at the dry-bulb temperature e w is the saturated water vapor pressure, in units of millibar, at the wet-bulb temperature e is the actual water vapor pressure, in units of millibar psta is "station pressure" (absolute barometric pressure at the site that humidity is being calculated
for) in units of millibar (which is also hPa). for greater accuracy use the Arden Buck Equation to find the water vapor pressures

See also
Dewcheck Carburetor heat Hydrocarbon dew point Thermodynamic diagrams

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psychrometrics ...for the handy 1904 chart that reveals all the 'thermodynamically interdependent' properties of moist air (at a glance).

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Dew point - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

References
1. ^ a b Horstmeyer, Steve (2006-08-15). "Relative Humidity....Relative to What? The Dew Point Temperature...a better approach" 0393326586. 3. ^ "MET4 AND MET4A CALCULATION OF DEW POINT" WA 98052. 2007-09-13.

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. Steve Horstmeyer, Meteorologist, WKRC TV, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Retrieved 2009-08-20. . W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN

2. ^ Burt, Christopher C.. Extreme Weather: A Guide & Record Book

. Paroscientific, Inc. 4500 148th Ave. N.E. Redmond,

4. ^ M. G. Lawrence, "The relationship between relative humidity and the dew point temperature in moist air: A simple conversion and applications", Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 86, 225-233, 2005 5. ^ www.srh.noaa.gov/images/epz/wxcalc/rhTdFromWetBulb.pdf

External links
Free Dewpoint Calculator Free dewpoint calculator What is the dew point? NOAA Dew point dew point formula Windows program for Heat Index, Dew Point, etc Often Needed Answers about Temp, Humidity & Dew Point newsgroup FREE Humidity & Dewpoint Calculator
v d e

[edit] - Shaw Moisture Meters - PhyMetrix

Free Windows Program, Dewpoint Units Conversion Calculator

from the sci.geo.meteorology Usenet

- Vaisala

Meteorological data and variables

Adiabatic processes Lapse rate Lightning Surface solar radiation Surface weather analysis Visibility Vorticity Wind Cloud Cloud condensation nuclei Fog Precipitation Water vapor Convective available potential energy (CAPE) Convective inhibition (CIN) Convective instability Convective temperature (T c ) Helicity Lifted index (LI) Bulk Richardson number (BRN) Dew point (T d ) Equivalent temperature (T e ) Forest fire weather index Haines Index Heat index Humidex Humidity Potential temperature () Equivalent potential temperature (e ) Sea surface temperature (SST) Wet-bulb temperature Wet-bulb potential temperature Wind chill Atmospheric pressure Baroclinity Barotropicity

General Condensation Convection

Temperature

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Categories: Atmospheric thermodynamics | Psychrometrics

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