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Water surface evaporation is an important process in the hydrologic and energy cycles. Accurate simulation of water evaporation is important for the evaluation of water resources. In this paper, using meteorological data from the Aixinzhuang reservoir, the main factors affecting water surface evaporation were determined by the principal component analysis method. To illustrate the influence of these factors on water surface evaporation, the paper first adopted the Dalton model to simulate water surface evaporation. The results showed that the simulation precision was poor for the peak value zone. To improve the model simulation’s precision, a modified Dalton model considering relative humidity was proposed. The results show that the 10-day average relative error is 17.2%, assessed as qualified; the monthly average relative error is 12.5%, assessed as qualified; and the yearly average relative error is 3.4%, assessed as excellent. To validate its applicability, the meteorological data of Kuancheng station in the Luan River basin were selected to test the modified model. The results show that the 10-day average relative error is 15.4%, assessed as qualified; the monthly average relative error is 13.3%, assessed as qualified; and the yearly average relative error is 6.0%, assessed as good. These results showed that the modified model had good applicability and versatility. The research results can provide technical support for the calculation of water surface evaporation in northern China or similar regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]