Nitrous oxide emissions from soil often vary substantially over a 48 h period following precipitation events. The transient nature of these high flux events presents a challenge to efforts attempting to quantify annual emissions. This study was performed to characterize the temporal variations in soil N₂O emissions. Four automated chambers were installed in a field in Central Iowa in the fall of 2005, following application of anhydrous ammonia fertilizer. Nitrous oxide emissions were measured at 6 h intervals from Nov. 2005, to corn harvest in October 2006. Cross correlation analysis showed that the peaks of N₂O emissions occurred approximately 36 h after the rainfall events. These data were used to assess the implications sampling frequency on estimation of cumulative N₂O emissions over an annual period.