11. Conditions Adverse to Dew Formation

Conditions Adverse to Dew Formation

Now, let’s return to thoughts of the dew. Did you notice that there is much dew on some mornings and little or none on others? Why? There are several reasons.

Dew is absent or minimal after a cloudy day the day before. The sun had been shining just like all other days, but the clouds between the sun and the earth had dissipated and absorbed the rays of energy. The flow of energy had been disrupted. The energy was not able to fall directly on the objects on the earth. They remained cool that day. When the night came there was not much energy to radiate back. They could not cool down sufficiently at night to be attractive to dew formation. So there was no dew on them that night.

Dew is also absent or minimal after a cloudy night. The sun may have shown brightly the day before and warmed things nicely during the day, but evening and night clouds have interfered with the release of the radiating energy. It could not escape. Much of it was bounced back or absorbed by the suspended liquid drops of the clouds in the air above, hence, no dew.

Wind conditions also affect the dew. During a windy day the air rushing by objects on earth keeps them cool by taking much of the energy with it. Energy is robbed by the wind. Wind keeps things agitated. At night the wind takes the radiating energy and warms the objects that release the energy. The quiet delicate process of dew formation is interrupted. There is little or no dew after a windy day or a windy night.