Time‐depth patterns of soil water flux in the 0‐ to 9‐cm zone of a bare field soil are presented for four 24‐hour periods at 3, 7, 16, and 37 days after irrigation. On day 3, the flux at 0 cm (evaporation) dominated the flux patterns for all depths. As the soil dried, this flux decreased and those at the greater depths gradually became dominant. On all 16 days of measurement, downward flux was observed below 1 to 3 cm during several hours between sunrise and early afternoon. Only one period of downward flux was observed for day 3; whereas, 2 to 4 periods were noted for subsequent days. The data demonstrate the dynamic nature of soil water flux in the surface zone of a field soil subjected to diurnally varying environmental conditions.