Trends in Extreme Dewpoints Across the U.S.

Abstract:

As temperatures continue to increase all over the world, extreme weather events and the observations associated with them are becoming more prevalent. This trend should indicate that higher moisture content values are occurring across the globe in the form of dewpoints and wetbulb temperatures, which could have severe impacts on everyday human activity and could even cause some areas of the world to become uninhabitable. Data plots from six stations across the southeastern United States have shown this upward trend of maximum yearly summertime dewpoints, particularly in recent decades. The objective of my research is to find the trends across all areas of the continental United States and see how much the trend varies in different areas to see where has seen the greatest increase in moisture content. Station data will be evaluated and sorted to examine the 99^th percentile of meteorological summertime dewpoints and wetbulb temperatures to see if these values are becoming more frequent over time. Weather patterns during these extreme value days will also be studied to determine if extreme weather events are causing the increase, or if temperature increases alone are the cause. This research will show how the trend of extreme moisture content in the air is related to the rising temperatures across the globe and if there is a need to be concerned about those trends.