Clear skies and calm winds lead to a few cool nights

 

Temperatures Monday morning dipped into the low 50s area wide, with a few outlying locations falling into the upper 40s.  Not quite record low temperatures, but definitely cool for the 2nd of August.  Monday night will feature more of the same with temperatures area wide dipping back into the low 50s.  This comes as our winds will turn calm, skies remain clear and our dew point temperatures remain low/dry.

The clear sky and calm winds are a perfect recipe for temperatures to tumble during the overnight.  This is through a process known as 'radiational cooling'.

Throughout the day the sun heats up our atmosphere and ground.  That heat is then released back into the atmosphere and into space at night; even more so when the skies are clear and the winds are calm.  When clouds are present at night they act as a blanket, keeping some of that heat trapped and unable to escape back into space.  The clouds even emit some of the heat back down to the surface keeping temperatures at night a little warmer. 

While this can lead to some cooler nights during the warmer seasons, it's more noticeable during the winter months on a clear, calm night with snow on the ground.  Temperatures fall quickly under those conditions versus when there are clouds around.

These conditions will last for at least one more night, Monday night, before we see a wind shift to the southwest by midweek.  This will hold our overnight low temperatures up and closer to where we should be for the beginning of August.