Excelet

Exploring Relative Humidity

Let's examine water vapor in the atmosphere

and how it varies with temperature

DT

dry-bulb wet-bulb

Click tabs to navigate!!!

Relative Humidity Data for Washington, DC National Airport
✘ 1
add temperature data to graph
How does relative humidity,%RH, vary during the day? Why?

90 35

75

60 30

%RH T, oC
45

30 25

15

0 20
1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00 6:00 7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00 6:00 7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00
PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM AM AM AM AM AM AM AM AM AM AM AM AM PM
Time
7/27 - afternoon midnight 7/28 - noon

How are relative humidity and temperature related?

Let's investigate this behavior by examining how relative humidity is determined.

Sinex 2010
to get data: http://www.accuweather.com/forecast-past24-us.asp?partner=accuweather&zipcode=20001&metric=1

27-28 July 2009

Time Temp. C o
%RH
1:00 PM 31 54 31
2:00 PM 32 52 32
3:00 PM 32 49 32
4:00 PM 33 44 33
5:00 PM 32 48 32
6:00 PM 32 52 32
7:00 PM 31 56 31
8:00 PM 29 62 29
9:00 PM 29 66 29
10:00 PM 28 71 28
11:00 PM 27 73 27
12:00 AM 27 73 27
1:00 AM 26 76 26
2:00 AM 26 78 26
3:00 AM 26 75 26
4:00 AM 26 73 26
5:00 AM 25 78 25
6:00 AM 24 84 24
7:00 AM 24 81 24
8:00 AM 25 81 25
9:00 AM 26 78 26
10:00 AM 26 75 26
11:00 AM 26 73 26
12:00 PM 27 66 27
Determining Relative Humidity with a Psychrometer

Dry-bulb temperature = 30 o
C atmospheric pressure = 1013 mb 760 torr

Wet-bulb temperature = 24.5 o

C difference in temperature = 5.5 o
C Sea Level Pressure

Why is the temperature of the wet-bulb thermometer lower?

Calculated quantities: amount of water vapor maximum water vapor that

found in air can exist in air
actual vapor pressure = 27.0 mb saturated vapor pressure = 42.5 mb
20.2 torr 31.8 torr

actual vapor density = 19.4 g/m3 saturated vapor density = 30.5 g/m3

Relative Humidity = 63.5 %

Dew Point Temperature = 22.3 o

C

Formulas for calculated quantities from: click here

http://www.4wx.com/wxcalc/formulas/rhTdFromWetBulb.php

Sinex 2010
Saturated Vapor Density of Water
Mathematical Model for Saturated Vapor Density (VD)
saturated vapor density, g/m3 as a function of temperature (T) over the range of 0-40oC 0
fit model
T, C
o
measured calculated error
0 4.85 -50
5 6.80 60
-50
10 9.40 -50 This is the
50
11 10.01 -50 maximim
12 10.66 40
-50
VD amount of
13 11.35 -50
g/m3 water vapor
30
14 12.07 -50 that can exist
15 12.83 -50
20 in air at a
20 17.30 -50 specific
10
25 23.00 -50 temperature.
30 30.40 -50 0
37 44.00 -50 0 5 10 15 20
Temperature, 25
oC 30 35 40
40 51.10 -50

Vapor density is the mass of water vapor in grams found

in one cubic meter of air. Similar to vapor pressure curve.

VD = 0.00036T3 + 0.00543T2 + 0.37067T + 4.81865

R2 = 1.00

data from: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/HBASE/Kinetic/watvap.html#c1 Sinex 2010

click here
The model results here are slightly different.
at can exist
Relative Humidity How does the temperature change influence the relative humidity?
temperature
saturated actual vapor density of air =
(measured 14.5 g/m3 17 ✘ add saturation line
vapor density, g/m 3
) 170 - - - - -

relative h u m id ity, %
T, C
o
calculated relative humidity
0 4.82 300.9 Dew Point
5 6.85 211.6 0 100 1 Temperature
10 9.43 153.8 40 100
11 10.03 144.5 350
(Find this
12 10.67 135.9 point on the
300
13 11.35 127.8 graph for
250
14 12.06 120.2 your
200
15 12.82 113.1 conditions.)
150
20 17.28 83.9
100 2
25 23.10 62.8
50
30 30.55 47.5
37 44.20 32.8 0
0 5 10 15 temperature,oC
20 25 30 35 40
40 51.37 28.2

Saturated vapor
T %RH density removed How does dew form?
17 100.29 14.46 0.04 g
o
C g/m3 water condenses

based on: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/HBASE/Kinetic/relhum.html#c3 Sinex 2010

click here
Dew Point

point on the

conditions.)