How radiational cooling works

You might hear our Local 3 meteorologists throw out the term ‘radiational cooling’ over the next couple of days when referring to cooler overnight temperatures. We often experience efficient radiational cooling during the cooler seasons, but what does that mean, and how does it affect our weather? It all starts with the sun. During the day, incoming solar radiation heats the Earth’s surface. After the sun goes down, heat is released back towards space. The net loss of heat during the night is what we refer to as radiational cooling.

The best conditions for efficient radiational cooling are clear skies, dry air, and light winds.

Clear Skies: Clear conditions at night allow for the maximum amount of radiation to escape to space. Cloud cover traps heat at the surface, keeping temper