n both years, a period of dry north wind occurred from 10
to 13 October, although in 2003 the nights of 11 and
12 October had prolonged periods of high relative humidity
(table 1). In both years, during the 9 to 15 day period before
the north wind, the average rice moisture remained nearly the
same (tables 2 and 3). The north wind period had daytime
minimum
relative humidity of 14% in 2003 and 13% in 2004.
Average wind speeds ranged from 19 to 40 km/h with gusts
to 76 km/h in 2003, and from 23 to 47 km/h with gusts to
72 km/h in 2004. The highest wind speeds occurred during
daylight hours. After several days of dry windy conditions,
the rice moisture dropped by 6 to 10 percentage points.
Before the windy period, the rice in all basins experienced
wide diurnal swings in moisture (figs. 2 and 3). During the
windy period, the rice had much less diurnal variation in
moisture, and wetter rice experienced less variation in
moisture than drier rice. After the windy period ended, the
rice resumed a diurnal moisture fluctuation