Dear Colleagues,
There is an impasse with one of the reviewers on some key issues and I would like to offer you the opportunity to respond to all points and modify your manuscript.
My particular concern is 'what part is the water vapor signal is local and what part is advected.'
The reviewer suggested a simple budget analysis to address this, and I think this would go a long way to improving the paper and making it more acceptable to the reviewer.
I would also like to see a more rigorous engagement with the question of just how much surface moisture is being detected by the MWR. Is this perhaps the reason why seasonal effects are not noticeable?
Note, I have selected 'Publish subject to minor revisions' (review by editor), not because I think only minor revisions are required, but because the reviewer has made his/her points very clear and I want to avoid another round.
Best regards,
Graham

Dear Authors,
I am happy to accept your manuscript for publication subject to some minor technical corrections. I am attaching a marked copy of the manuscript with minor changes and requests for clarification. Once these are taken care of I will recommend final acceptance.
Best,
Graham Feingold