6% per cent relative humidity - a personal record today!

[bill mudd]

dont think my DAVIS WEATHER STATION has EVER had this reading of ONLY 6% - my face is shrinking from lack of moisture
anybody got a record lower than this? :roll:

 

[Jeff Snyder]

In one of the fire weather theads, some posted an ob near Artesia, NM, (near the NM/TX border) that had, IIRC, 2% RH. A surrounding ob had an RH near that value as well -- VERY dry indeed!

 

[Dan Robinson]

I should have bought stock in ChapStick this year!

 

[David Wolfson]

Phoenix's chance for breaking the rainless streak that will set the record in a few days is a cut-off low off Baja. Unfortunately there's no moisture. We have a bone-dry east wind with RH of around 10%.

 

[B Ozanne]

For the 3 years I have had my Davis setup the lowest RH I have recorded was 12%. No records for sure. What's interesting is that the lowest RH has always been recorded in April, 3 years in a row actually. No other month has been below 15%. One February day made a run.

Any theories about why April would bring the lowest RH values to coastal Connecticut?

My guess is that we are still getting moderated arctic fronts at that time of year, but the strength of the sun is compensating and driving temps up. a typical 12% day was T=54F Td=2F with NW winds.

More: I was just thinking that while 6% RH is lip crackling dry, 100% humidity at Vostok Station in Antarctica is even drier...sort of. Take today for example, a bright sunlit summer day at -40F/-44F. Those dewpoints are nose bleed, split lip, leather hands dry. Wait until winter when the dewpoints fall to lung splittingly dry levels.

 

[David Wolfson]

Bill, I'd guess that it's a combination of the first major warm-core subsidence high of the spring still cut off from GoM moisture and near-surface evapo-transpiration with increased insolation. Later on, the vegetation leafs out and all the northern lakes open up. At least that's what I remember from my years growing up in New England. Similar "indian summer" setups get moisture from warm ground and vegetation, and the "January thaw" setup usually sucks up quite a bit of frozen stuff and gets less insolation.

 

[B Ozanne]

Bill, I'd guess that it's a combination of the first major warm-core subsidence high of the spring still cut off from GoM moisture and near-surface evapo-transpiration with increased insolation. Later on, the vegetation leafs out and all the northern lakes open up. At least that's what I remember from my years growing up in New England. Similar "indian summer" setups get moisture from warm ground and vegetation, and the "January thaw" setup usually sucks up quite a bit of frozen stuff and gets less insolation.

Yep, its certainly before we have the leaves out. The leaves are suppressed in coastal CT by almost 2 weeks due to the cold waters of Long Island Sound.

Its amazing how something as mundane as RH can get meteorologists excited.