Weather Tidbits: Radiational Cooling

This edition of Weather Tidbits will be discussing radiational cooling. This is a process that allows for rapid cooling at the surface during the night. During the day, heat is accumulated at the surface by the sun via its solar radiation. The heat accumulated from the day will then begin to escape back into the atmosphere once the sun sets. This process at night is most efficient when the sky is clear. A clear sky will allow all the accumulated heat from the day to escape back into space. However, if there are clouds in place, this process is not as efficient. Clouds can re-emit some of that heat back to the surface. Clouds act like a blanket at night and will insulate temperatures at the surface. Thus, a cloudy night is likely to feature warmer temperatures at the surface than a clear night.