[lit-ideas] Re: Climate -- another stupid question
- From: "Mike Geary" <atlas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 5 Sep 2004 23:48:06 -0500
> Does anyone understand how air can be dryer closer to the coast? I am in
the
> smack dab middle of the country and it is like breathing through a wet
> blanket. You go to Washington right on the edge of the ocean spraying
water into
> the air and behold, the air is dry! It is conter-intuitive, to say the
least.
> (I should have payed more attention in Science.)
Humidity depends upon the temperature of the air and the moisture available
to saturate the air. The number of grains of water vapor varys with
temperature. Each degree of temperature rise will support an ever greater
number of grains of moisture. At any specific temperature air will support
a specific number of grains of moisture, beyond that point the moisture
condenses out. The measure of grains of water vapor in the air is the
humidity of the air. Relative humidity is the measure of humidity relative
to the amount of humidity the air could hold at that temperature. If there
is plenty of moisture being supplied to a mass of hot air it could reach
100%, in which case it would be raining. Comfort depends on the relative
humidity-- if the air mass around Memphis is say 97 degrees and a steady
supply of moisture is being pumped up from the Gulf of Mexico to mix with
that air mass then the relative humidity could easily be 95% which it often
is in Memphis in summer. This air would feel wetter than 97 degrees at
Myrtle Beach with 85% relative humidity (if, say, the wind is blowing from
inland) because the rate of sweat evaporation would be appreciably less in
the 95% relative humidity of Memphis and one's skin would tend to become wet
with perspiration.
Mike Geary
Memphis
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