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Training TipsHigh dew point, hidden hazard
In one such place, this seemingly benign weather observation was registered later in the day that the heat had peaked: 201453Z 36008KT 10SM FEW100 28/21 A2991 RMK AO2 SLP125 6//// T02830211 56010.
With light winds from the north, good visibility, and only a few clouds at 10,000 feet, what was not to like about the conditions?
The temperature (in the low 80s, converted from 28 degrees Celsius) was high but no longer extreme. The single note of caution for alert pilots lay to the right of the slash (/) in the 28/21 temperature and dew-point values given in the observation.
“A high dew point is bad news, usually,” said AOPA Pilot Editor at Large Thomas A. Horne. “A high dew point equals more moisture in the air. More moisture equals more potential warming of the atmosphere, and therefore, instability.”
And atmospheric instability is closely associated with the potential for thunderstorms.
“Once thermals, fronts, and other lifting forces go to work on air masses with high dew points, towering cumulus or cumulonimbus clouds can soon follow,” Horne wrote in the AOPA Pilot article “Wx Watch: Dew Point Review.” “Cooling takes place as moisture-laden air is lifted higher and higher in unstable air masses. Most severe thunderstorms (those with 50-plus-knot surface winds, three-quarter-inch hail, or tornadoes) happen in air masses with dew points above 70 degrees F (21 degrees C).” The Air Safety Institute’s WeatherWise: Air Masses and Fronts online course further explores the role of dew point in weather development.
High dew points may also be a harbinger of imminent frontal passage, as southerly flows pump moisture-laden air into the area, he said.
But not always. A high dew point may not be a match for extremely high temperatures. On a day when the temperature and dew point at AOPA headquarters in Frederick, Md., stood at 37/21 Celsius, Horne was not expecting convective activity.
“There isn’t enough moisture to make a TRW because the high temps have dried the air,” he said.
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AVIATION EVENTS & WEATHER
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