Observations of sound attenuation in the out of doors have shown an attenuation factor approximately dependent on the five‐fourths power of frequency, rather than the square. Both power laws have been applied to calculations of yield‐scalable pressure signatures from explosions to allow comparison of results with measurements of explosion‐wave compression rise times. It appears that the five‐fourths law better explains the long rise times observed, but there are still serious underpredictions. Nevertheless, this model has been applied to the problem of determining the requirements for pressure‐gauge frequency response. At the low overpressures of concern in environmental monitoring, it appears that a 1‐kHz instrument response is more than adequate for recording explosion waves.