ATIS - DRY AIR

[waterbottle]

Hi all,

Hopefully an easy one.

Does anyone know what "DRY AIR" means when included in an ATIS? This came up the other night in the Pacific.

[Goldenrivett]

Sorry - I don't have access to my copy of "Aviation Meteorology" so hope this link will do.

"The Dry Bulb temperature, usually referred to as air temperature, is the air property that is most common used. When people refer to the temperature of the air, they are normally referring to its dry bulb temperature."
Dry Bulb, Wet Bulb and Dew Point Temperature (http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/dry-wet-bulb-dew-point-air-d_682.html)

[waterbottle]

Thanks for that. I'm happy with the definitions around wet bulb etc. I haven't however seen the term dry air used in an atis before.

Anyone else?

[gorter]

I've personally never heard the term before so this is a total guess. Was a dew point given? I'm just wondering if the humidity was so low that the relative humidity was as near to zero as to make no difference. A huge split between temp and dew point or no dew point might point to that. But like i said that's a pure guess.

[blah blah blah]

Temp was 28, dew point 19. Everything in the ATIS was normal except for this addition.