Soil Moisture and Low Temperatures

PSU Meteorology

PSU Meteorology

Soil moisture affects low temperatures in a different way than high temperatures…

If the ground is moist at night: There are two consequences. The first is evaporational cooling, but the result does not necessarily mean lower temperatures. The second is higher dew-points…

If there is more available moisture, dew-points will either be higher or will become higher. At night, evaporational cooling stops once the air temperatures falls to the dew-point. Simply put, if the ground is moist, expect higher dew-points and higher minimum temperatures.

If the ground is dry at night: The cooling can be even more significant. Since there is less available moisture, dew-points will probably be lower. That’s already a good starting place for lower minimum temperatures. Also consider that dry surfaces exchange heat faster than moist surfaces and there will be more heat lost. This is radiational cooling.

As a result, if the ground is dry at night, expect lower minimum temperatures.

Quincy

I am a meteorologist and storm chaser who travels around North America documenting, photographing and researching severe weather. I earned a B.S. in Meteorology at Western Connecticut State University in 2009 and my professional weather forecasting experience includes time with The Weather Channel, WTNH-TV and WREX-TV.

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