Dew Points Are About To Drop
By Steve MacLaughlin on May 16, 2012, 4:54pm
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For the first time this season, over the last couple of days, we have started to get that taste of the nasty humidity that becomes common (and much worse) in the summer.
If you wanna know how much moisture is in the air, there is only one number you need to look at: the dew point. The dew point is the single-most important number in all of weather for many reasons, but it also tells us exactly how dry or humid it is. No math. No long, complicated equation. It is absolute and simple: a low dew point means dry air, a high dew point means humid air.
The image above shows the dew point values at about 5pm. Check out Hartford. 63°. That's pretty high. In the summer, we rarely get above 70 to 75°, which is oppressive. Whenever we see 60s, we know it's muggy outside. The reason why? A cold front up to our northwest and a southerly wind dragging up moisture from the Gulf Of Mexico.
Now look up to the northwest behind the cold front where the winds are northwesterly; coming out of Canada. Binghamton drops to 52°, Buffalo to 43° and Detroit to 37°. That's the air that will be surging into CT behind the cold front.
So...when you wake up on Thursday morning, the humidity should be gone and as the day goes on it will get drier and drier with plenty of sunshine through the weekend.
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