United States

Department of
Agriculture Equilibrium Moisture
Forest Service
Forest
Products
Content of Wood in
Laboratory

Research
Note
Outdoor Locations
FPL-RN-0268
in the United States
and Worldwide
William T. Simpson
Abstract
With relative humidity and temperature data from the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the
average equilibrium moisture content for each month of the
year was calculated for 262 locations in the United States
and 122 locations outside the United States. As an aid for
storage of kiln-dried lumber, a graph is presented for deter-
mining the reduction in equilibrium moisture content that
results from heating air in an enclosed storage space above
the temperature of the outside air.
Keywords: Equilibrium moisture content, lumber storage,
drying

August 1998

Simpson, William T. 1998. Equilibrium moisture content of wood in outdoor

locations in the United States and worldwide. Res. Note FPL-RN-0268.
Madison, WI: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest
Products Laboratory. 11 p.
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United States
Department of
Agriculture Equilibrium Moisture
Forest Service

Forest
Products
Content of Wood in
Laboratory

Research
Note
Outdoor Locations
FPL–RN-268
in the United States
and Worldwide
William T. Simpson

On Page 1, the equation in column 2 should read

On Page 2, the last line in column 2 should read

“. . . to 7%, a temperature rise of 20°F (11°C) is necessary.”

 Equilibrium Moisture Content of
Wood in Outdoor Locations in the
United States and Worldwide
William T. Simpson, Research Forest Products Technologist
Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin

Introduction Equilibrium Moisture Content

The moisture content of wood depends on the relative at U.S. Locations
humidity and temperature of the air surrounding it. If wood The dependence of EMC on relative humidity and tempera-
remains long enough in air where the relative humidity and tures between 30°F and 150°F (–1.1°C and 65.6°C) is
temperature remain constant, the moisture content will also shown in Table 1 (Forest Products Laboratory 1987). The
become constant at a value known as the equilibrium mois- data in Table 1 are limited to only a small fraction of all
ture content (EMC). Thus, every combination of relative possible combinations of temperature and relative humidity.
humidity and temperature has an associated EMC value. Intermediate EMCs can be calculated with the following
The EMC increases with increasing relative humidity and equations (Simpson 1973, Forest Products Laboratory
with decreasing temperature. 1987):
If we know the relative humidity and temperature, and there-
fore the EMC, of any location where lumber or other wood
products are stored, we have useful information relevant to
air drying of lumber, storage of dried lumber, and optimum
moisture content of lumber for use in finished wood prod- where T is temperature, h is relative humidity (%/100),
ucts. Low EMCs accelerate air drying, which is often advan- EMC is moisture content (%), and W, K, K , and K2 are
1

tageous but can be a detriment if a species that is susceptible coefficients of an adsorption model developed by Hailwood
to surface checking, such as oak, dries too quickly early in and Horrobin (1946).
the drying process. Kiln-dried lumber that is stored in high For temperature in Fahrenheit,
EMC conditions can regain moisture, thus negating part of
the results of drying and possibly creating a high moisture
content that will adversely affect the performance of a finished
wood product. If we knew the EMC of the prospective loca-
tion of a finished wood product, we ideally could dry lumber
to that moisture content and maintain that moisture content
all the way through manufacture of the product. This ideal
situation is not often possible in practice, but knowledge of and for temperature in Celsius,
the ideal EMC may sometimes be beneficial if for no other
reason than to provide an explanation for poor performance
and point out the necessity for a remedy.

The purpose of this note is to provide a list of locations,

both within and outside the United States, with the mean
monthly EMC values of wood exposed to the outdoor
atmosphere but protected from direct precipitation or sun. The average EMC for each month is shown in Table 2 for
A secondary purpose is to provide easy to use information on 262 locations in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Pacific
the decrease in relative humidity, and thus EMC, that results Island territories and in Table 3 for 122 locations outside the
from raising the temperature of an enclosed storage space United States. The EMCs in Tables 2 and 3 were calculated,
above the temperature of the outdoor ambient temperature. using the above equations, from relative humidity and
temperature data available from the National Climatic Data Western redcedar and redwood are two native continental
Center (NCDC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admini- U.S. species that might be affected by this factor (Spalt 1958,
stration (NOAA). Most of the data in Table 2 was from Salamon and others 1975). However, high extractive content
NCDC (1997), but 15 of the locations were from Wallis heartwood is likely to be more prevalent in old-growth
(1977). The tabulated relative humidities are the monthly timber, and with the current trend to harvest younger growth
averages of the daily morning and afternoon values. For the timber, extractive content in wood may no longer be as high.
purpose of the EMC calculations, the morning and afternoon
values were averaged. The temperature values are the Tables 2 and 3 show the wide variability in EMC as affected
monthly averages of the normal daily temperatures. Most of by location and month. For example, the EMC in Phoenix,
the NOAA relative humidity and temperature data is based Arizona, in June is only 4.6%, while the EMC in Eugene,
on at least 30 years of observation. The EMCs in Table 3 Oregon, in December is 20.2%. In Fresno, California, the
were calculated from relative humidities that were derived EMC varies from 7.8% in July to 16.6% in December—a
from air and dew point temperatures (USA Today 1998; wide range that will cause a large variation in moisture
original data from NCDC). Relative humidity is the ratio of content of wood products from summer to winter. At the
vapor pressure at the dew point temperature to vapor pressure other extreme, the EMC in Little Rock, Arkansas, varies
at the air temperature. A least-squares relationship to calcu- throughout the year by only about 1% EMC—from 12.8%
late vapor pressure from temperature was developed from the in March to 13.9% in September and December.
data of Hawkins (1978):
Lowering Equilibrium
Moisture Content for Storage
for vapor pressure in inches of mercury and temperature in It is not uncommon for lumber to be kiln dried to 6% to 8%
Fahrenheit, and moisture content and then stored in a protected but unheated
area where the relative humidity is such that the EMC is
higher than 6% to 8%. If the EMC is high enough and stor-
age is long enough, the lumber can increase in moisture
content, which can create problems in product manufacture or
for vapor pressure in pascals and temperature in Celsius.
performance of an end product. There are several ways to
Several factors should be noted about the EMC data in minimize this problem, including wrapping the lumber in a
Tables 2 and 3. Wood exhibits hysteresis, which means that moisture barrier or storing it in an air-conditioned facility.
if wood comes to equilibrium at a given relative humidity One simple and not too costly method to lower EMC in an
and temperature, the EMC will be slightly higher if this enclosed space is by simply raising the temperature above
equilibrium is reached by losing moisture than it would be if the outside ambient air temperature—easily controlled by a
it reaches equilibrium by gaining moisture. In the extreme, differential thermostat. Alternatively, a humidistat can be
this effect can be as much as 3% moisture content. However, used to control a heating system.
the EMC database used in this analysis was obtained ex- When inside temperature is raised above outside temperature
perimentally under relative humidity conditions that oscil- without adding any moisture to the inside air, the relative
lated slightly. This tended to establish EMCs intermediate humidity of the inside air is reduced. This is because the
between the two hysteresis extremes (Stamm and Loughbor- specific humidity (the mass of water per unit mass of dry air)
ough 1935) and means they can be considered reasonable of the air remains the same when its temperature is raised,
estimates for practical applications. A second factor is that but the capacity of the air to hold moisture increases as
the EMC data in Table 1 does not extend below 30°F temperature increases, therefore lowering relative humidity.
(-1.1°C), but some of the locations in Tables 2 and 3 have Figure 1 shows the effect on EMC of raising inside tempera-
winter temperatures below this level. This raises the ture above outside ambient temperature. Calculations were
question of the validity of the extrapolation to below 30°F. made using the psychometric equations given in Hawkins
Hedlin (1967) showed evidence that EMC data at 10°F (1978).
(-12.2°C) are approximately what would be expected by
extrapolating from values above 30°F. So, it seems valid to The graph applies to all outside ambient air temperatures
assume that the extrapolated EMCs are reasonable approxi- from 30°F to 90°F (–1.1°C to 32.2°C). For example, if
mations. The third factor of concern is that the EMC values, outside EMC is 14%, Fig. 1 indicates that to reduce EMC
especially at high relative humidities, of wood species with a to 7%, a temperature rise of 20°F (–6.7°C) is necessary.
high extractive content are lower than species with little or
no extractives. Some tropical hardwoods exhibit this
behavior (Spalt 1958, Wangaard and Granados 1967).
Table 2—Equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of wood, exposed to outdoor atmosphere, in U.S. locations

EMC (%)
State City Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Ott Nov Dec
AK Anchorage
AK Barrow
AK Bethel
AK Fairbanks
AK Homer
AK Juneau
AK King Salmom
AK Kodiak
AK Nome
AK Valdez
AK Yakutat
AL Birmingham
AL Huntsville
AL Mobile
AL Montgomery
AR Fort Smith
AR Little Rock
AZ Flagstaff
AZ Phoenix
AZ Tucson
AZ Winslow
AZ Yuma
CA Bakersfield
CA Bishop
CA Fresno
CA Long Beach
CA Los Angeles
CA Oakland
CA Red Bluff
CA Redding
CA Sacramento
CA Sandberg
CA San Diego
CA San Francisco
CA Santa Barbara
CA Santa Maria
CA Stockton
CA Twentynine Palms
CO Alamosa
CO Colorado Springs
CO Denver
CO Grand Junction
CO Pueblo
CT Bridgeport
CT Hartford
DC Washington
DE Wilmington
FL Apalachicola
FL Daytona Beach
FL Fort Myers
FL Gainesville
FL Jacksonville
FL Key West
FL Miami
Table 2—Equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of wood, exposed to outdoor atmosphere, in U.S. locations-con.
EMC (%)
State City Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
FL Orlando
FL Pensacola
FL Tallahassee
FL Tampa
FL Vero Beach
FL West Palm Beach
GA Athens
GA Atlanta
GA Augusta
GA Columbus
GA Macon
GA Rome
GA Savannah
HI Hilo
HI Honolulu
HI Kahului
HI Lihue
IA Des Moines
IA Dubuque
IA Sioux City
IA Waterloo
ID Boise
ID Lewiston
ID Pocatello
IL Cairo
IL Chicago
IL Moline
IL Peoria
IL Rockford
IL Springfield
IN Evansville
IN Fort Wayne
IN Indianapolis
IN South Bend
KS Concordia
KS Dodge City
KS Goodland
KS Topeka
KS Wichita
KY Covington
KY Jackson
KY Lexington
KY Louisville
KY Paducah
LA Alexandria
LA Baton Rouge
LA Lake Charles
LA New Orleans
LA Shreveport
MA Blue Hill
MA Boston
MA Worcester
MD Baltimore
Table 2—Equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of wood, exposed to outdoor atmosphere, in U.S. locations—con.

EMC (%)
State City Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
ME Caribou
ME Portland
Ml Alpena
Ml Detroit
Ml Flint
Ml Grand Rapids
Ml Houghton Lake
Ml Lansing
Ml Marquette
Ml Muskegon
Ml Sault Ste. Marie
MN Duluth
MN International Falls
MN Minneapolis–St. Paul
MN Rochester
MN Saint Cloud
MO Columbia
MO Kansas City
MO St. Louis
MO Springfield
MS Jackson
MS Meridian
MS Tupelo
MT Billings
MT Glasgow
MT Great Falls
MT Havre
MT Helena
MT Kalispell
MT Miles City
MT Missoula
NC Asheville
NC Cape Hatteras
NC Charlotte
NC Greensboro
NC Raleigh
NC Wilmington
ND Bismarck
ND Fargo
ND Williston
NE Grand Island
NE Lincoln
NE Norfolk
NE North Platte
NE Omaha
NE Scottsbluff
NE Valentine
NH Concord
NH Mt. Washington
NJ Atlantic City
NJ Newark
Table 2—Equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of wood, exposed to outdoor atmosphere, in U.S. locations-con.
EMC (%)
State City Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug. Sep Oct Nov Dec
NM Albuquerque
NM Clayton
NM Roswell
NV Elko
NV Ely
NV Las Vegas
NV Reno
NV Winnemucca
NY Albany
NY Binghamton
NY Buffalo
NY Islip
NY New York
NY Rochester
NY Syracuse
OH Akron
OH Cincinnati
Cleveland
OH Columbus
OH Dayton
OH Mansfield
OH Toledo
OH Youngstown
OK Oklahoma City
OK Tulsa
OR Astoria
Burns
OR Eugene
OR Medford
Pendleton
OR Portland
OR Salem
PA Allentown
PA Avoca
PA Erie
PA Harrisburg
PA Philadelphia
PA Pittsburg
PA Williamsport
PC Guam
PC Koror
PC Marshall Islands
PC Pago Pago
PC East Caroline Is.
PC Wake Island
PC West Caroline Is.
PR San Juan
RI Providence
SC Charleston
SC Columbia
SC Greenville
Table 2—Equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of wood, exposed to outdoor atmosphere, in U.S. Iocations-con.

EMC (%)
State City Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
SD Aberdeen
SD Huron
SD Rapid City
SD Sioux Falls
TN Bristol-Johnson City
TN Chattanooga
TN Knoxville
TN Memphis
TN Nashville
TX Abilene
TX Amarillo
TX Austin
TX Brownsville
TX Corpus Christi
TX Dallas–Ft. Worth
TX Del Rio
TX El Paso
TX Houston
TX Lubbock
TX Midland–Odessa
TX Port Arthur
TX San Angelo
TX San Antonio
TX Victoria
TX Waco
TX Wichita Falls
UT Milford
UT Salt Lake City
UT Wendover
VT Burlington
VA Lynchburg
VA Norfolk
VA Richmond
VA Roanoke
VA Wallops Island

WA Olympia
WA Quillayute
WA Seattle–Tacoma
WA Spokane
WA Yakima
WI Green Bay
WI La Crosse
WI Madison
WI Milwaukee
WV Beckley
WV Charleston
WV Elkins
WV Huntington
WV Parkersburg
WY Casper
WY Cheyenne
WY Lander
WY Sheridan
Table 3—Equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of wood, exposed to outdoor atmosphere, in locations outside U.S.
EMC (%)
Country City Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep O c t NO V Dec
Argentina Buenos Aires
Australia Hobart, TS
Australia Melbourne
Australia Perth
Australia Sydney
Austria Vienna
Bahamas Nassau
Belgium Antwerp
Belgium Brussels
Bermuda Hamilton
Boliva La Paz
Bosnia Tuzla
Brazil Brasilia
Brazil Rio De Janeiro
Brazil Sao Paulo
Canada Calgary, AB
Canada Churchill, MN
Canada Edmonton, AB
Canada Halifax, NS
Canada Montreal, ON
Canada Mould Bay, NT
Canada Quebec, QB
Canada St. John, NB
Canada St. John’s, NF
Canada Toronto, ON
Canada Vancouver, BC
Canada Winnipeg, MN
Canada Yellowknife, NT
Chile Santiago
China Beijing
China Hong Kong
China Shanghai
Colombia Barranquilla
Colombia Bogota
Czech Republic Prague
Denmark Copenhagen
Egypt Alexandria
England Birmingham
England Leeds
England Liverpool
England London
England Newcastle
England Plymouth
Equador Quito
Ethiopia Addis Ababa
Finland Helsinki
France Bordeaux
France Brest
France Marseille
France Nice
France Paris
Germany Berlin
Ghana Accra
Grand Cayman George Town
Greece Athens
India Bombay
India Calcutta
India Madras
India New Delhi
Indonesia Jakarta
Iraq Baghdad
Table 3—Equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of wood, exposed to outdoor atmosphere, in locations outside U.S.—con.

EMC (%)
Country City Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Ireland Dublin
Is. of St. Martin St. Martin
Israel Jerusalem
Israel Tel Aviv
Italy Genoa
Italy Milan
Italy Naples
Italy Palermo
Italy Piss
Italy Rome
Italy Venice
Jamaica Kingston
Japan Kobe
Japan Nagasaki
Japan Tokyo
Kenya Nairobi
Korea Seoul
Luxembourg Luxembourg
Madagascar Antananarivo
Mexico Acapulco
Mexico Cancun
Mexico Mazatlan
Mexico Puerto Vallarta
Morocco Casablanca
Netherland Antilles Aruba
Netherland Antilles Curacao
Netherlands Amsterdam
Niger Niamey
Nigeria Lagos
Norway Bergen
Norway Oslo
Peru Lima
Philippines Manila
Portugal Lisbon
Russia Moscow
Scotland Aberdeen
Scotland Edinburgh
Scotland Glascow
Scotland Kirkwall
Singapore Singapore
Somalia Mogadishu
South Africa Cape Town
South Africa Pretoria
Spain Barcelona
Spain Bilbao
Spain Madrid
Spain Seville
St. Lucia Island St. Lucia
Sudan Khartoum
Sweden Stockholm
Switzerland Bern
Switzerland Geneva
Switzerland Zurich
Taiwan Taipei
Tanzania Dar es Salaam
Thailand Bangkok
Tunisia Tunis
Venezuela Caracas
Vietnam Hanoi
Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City
Wales Cardiff
 Degrees above ambient (°F)

Degrees above ambient (°C)

Figure l—Equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of wood when air in
an enclosed space is heated above the temperature of the outside
ambient air: (a) in Fahrenheit, (b) in Celsius.