IEM Daily Feature
Wednesday, 28 August 2019

Ames v Des Moines Dew Points

Posted: 28 Aug 2019 05:35 AM

It is always interesting to take a look at differences between neighboring stations in the state. Today's comparison looks at the 2019 daily differences in high and low dew point temperatures (based on available hourly observations) between Ames and Des Moines. There is an interesting signal that appears on the chart with a clear bias toward higher dew points during the cold season for Des Moines and vice versa during the summer for Ames. Micro-climates are important for these two stations as the Des Moines airport station is within the Urban Heat Island of the metro area and the Ames station is on the periphery of a much smaller city. Both stations do have a considerable amount of agricultural crops near the airport as well. The recent period of higher dew points for Ames may be explained by differences in received rainfall this summer with Des Moines being much drier until the recent weeks.

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