The resistance to vapor transfer across the soil-air interface, termed surface resistance, plays an important role in determining the evaporation rate from unsaturated bare soils. A physically based analytical model is developed to describe the surface resistance under varying liquid water saturation. When the vaporization plane remains in the topmost soil layer (TSL), the model considers the vapor transport through the external diffusive layer (EDL), and the hydraulic connection between the capillary water in the TSL and underneath water source for evaporation. When the vaporization plane develops below the TSL, the model predicts the surface resistance by taking into account the development of the dry soil layer, the major barrier for vapor transport at the this soil-drying stage. With the consideration of the soil pore size distribution, the model is applicable to different soil types. The model was validated against six sets of laboratory experiments on the drying process of initially water-saturated soil columns under non-isothermal conditions. These experiments were conducted using different soil types and/or heat intensities above the soil surface. The model was found to perform well over intermediate and low liquid water saturation ranges while underestimating the surface resistance for the high liquid water saturation range. The results suggest that the model overall represents reasonably well the processes underlying the vapor transfer across the soil-air interface. Future model improvement may be gained by considering the hydraulic connection between the capillary water and film water in the TSL. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.