While there are a few signs that the very warm and dry weather pattern might have a few cracks in it come next week, our odds of actually getting any precipitation here in Reno is pretty slight. For the short term, sunny weather and near record high temperatures will stay with us through Friday, with high temperatures climbing into the mid to upper 60s. A dry cold front moves through the region over the weekend dropping our highs into the 50s Saturday and Sunday, and then a second front will drop temperatures even further on Monday, with a slight chance of a rain or snow shower then. Things warm slightly Tuesday and Wednesday back into the mid-50s.

Yesterday I said that dewpoint was a better measure of air moisture than relative humidity. Air that has a dewpoint of 20 degrees F needs to cool to that temperature before condensation (saturation) occurs, and dew forms (hence the name). If the dewpoint is 40 degrees F, it means it has more moisture in it than air with a dewpoint of 20.

How is dewpoint more useful than relative humidity? It’s not dependent on the air’s temperature. I’ll explain tomorrow.