HR: 1330h
AN: A13A-07    [Abstracts]
TI: Trends in temperature and dew point at the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire, 1935-2004.
AU: * Grant, A N
EM: agrant@mountwashington.org
AF: Mount Washington Observatory, 2779 White Mountain Highway, North Conway, NH 03860 United States
AU: Pszenny, A A
EM: apszenny@mountwashington.org
AF: Mount Washington Observatory, 2779 White Mountain Highway, North Conway, NH 03860 United States
AU: Pszenny, A A
EM: apszenny@mountwashington.org
AF: Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire Morse Hall 39 College Road, Durham, NH 03824 United States
AU: Fischer, E V
EM: efischer@mountwashington.org
AF: Mount Washington Observatory, 2779 White Mountain Highway, North Conway, NH 03860 United States
AU: Fischer, E V
EM: efischer@mountwashington.org
AF: Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire Morse Hall 39 College Road, Durham, NH 03824 United States
AB: Dry and wet bulb temperatures from sling psychrometer measurements taken every six hours from 1935 to 2004 at the summit of Mount Washington, located at 44 °16'N, 71 °18'W, 1914 m ASL have recently been digitized. Annual temperature has increased by 0.3°C, and annual dew point has decreased by 0.4°C over this 70-year period. Synoptic temperature has increased most in spring and winter, changing by 1.0°C and 0.5°C, respectively, while it has decreased slightly in summer and fall. Dew point has decreased in fall, summer, and winter, 0.9°C, 0.5°C, and 0.4°C respectively, and increased by 0.1°C in spring. Preliminary analysis suggests that some of the larger trends in winter and spring may be statistically significant; results of Monte Carlo simulations will be reported. Changes in dew point may be attributed to two factors. Decreasing dew points are expected if the temperature increases but the amount of water vapor present stays the same. Alternatively, lower dew points could be indicative of the presence of drier air. Other dew point climatologies of the continental United States for the second half of the century have shown mixed results, with increased dew points evident at some stations, decreased dew points at others, and no clear regional patterns.
DE: 3309 Climatology (1620)
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly