Notice your skin is a bit dryer than normal? Trouble staying hydrated on a sunny afternoon? You’re not alone. This past Monday was the driest October 16 has ever been in Denver, CO.
Meteorologist Corey Reppenhagen from our affiliate KUSA in Denver details the story here.
How dry is it today? Last night's Denver sounding set a daily record for dryness thru depth of atmosphere! Almost all-time monthly! #cowx pic.twitter.com/EzWMGuWgLM
— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) October 17, 2017
That’s right. Only a tenth of an inch of water was recorded in the ENTIRE depth of the atmosphere. How do we know? Every day, twice a day, National Weather Service offices across the country launch weather balloons. A collection of weather observing instruments known as a radiosonde measures temperature, wind, humidity, etc. as the balloon floats all the way up to 60,000 feet. The measurements then get transmitted back to the meteorologists for interpretation.
Dry air today in Denver at the City Park Golf Course #COwx pic.twitter.com/qrxrzDvQTW
— Cory Reppenhagen (@CReppWx) October 17, 2017
On Monday, they noticed a product called precipitable water was abnormally low. It’s exactly what it sounds like. Water in the air that is able to be precipitated. The October 16 reading of 0.10″ was a record. Tuesday morning wasn’t much better at 0.11″ of water. These results would be more typical to see during Denver’s two driest months, December and January. October’s all time driest air was 0.07″
Credit: KUSA
For WeatherNation, Meteorologist Karissa Klos