Cloudy Weather: Does Anybody really enjoy overcast skies.

[mikegeukes]

Cloudy Weatheroes Anybody really enjoy overcast skies.

I was thinking about this today, how cloudy weather affects
my mood, suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and
todays cool temps in the 60's with rain, reminded me that winter
is not far off. My location iis Grand Rapids Michigan and is one of
the cloudiest spots in the country with 205 cloudy days on average
for the year and one of the snowiest with 73.2 inches per year.

I do not mind cloudy weather, if it been sunny all week and its
cloudy for a day, I like the change of pace, but day after day of'
clouds gets to me, What do people think of cloudy weather.

I did some research and came up with some climatology stats
for the Midwest and the Southern Plains.

210 days: 7 months
195 days: 6 1/2 months
180 days: 6 months
165 days: 5 1/2 months
150 days: 5 months
135 days: 4 1/2 months
120 days: 4 months
105 days: 3 1/2 days
090 days: 3 months

MIDWEST STATES:
Average Cloudy Days in a year
176 days: Chicago IL
174 days: Rockford IL
167 days: Springfield IL
164 days: Moline IL
149 days: Cairo IL

193 days: South Bend IN
186 days: Fort Wayne IN
179 days: Indianapolis IN
163 days: Evansville IN

175 days: Dubuque IA
174 days: Waterloo IA
164 days: Des Moines IA
157 days: Sioux City IA

154 days: Topeka KS
140 days: Concordia KS
140 days: Wichita KS
124 days: Dodge City KS
105 days: Goodland KS

209 days: Sault Ste Marie MI
205 days: Grand Rapids MI (my town)
202 days: Muskegon MI
200 days: Houghton Lake MI
195 days: Flint MI
194 days: Alpena MI
191 days: Lansing MI
185 days: Detroit MI

188 days: International Falls MN
187 days: Duluth MN
182 days: Rochester MN
169 days: Minneapolis MN
166 days: St.Cloud MN

169 days: Columbia MO
164 days: Saint Louis MO
155 days: Springfield MO
149 days: Kansas City MO

149 days: Lincoln NE
149 days: Omaha NE
146 days: Norfolk NE
141 days: North Platte NE
140 days: Grand Island NE
138 days: Scottsbluff NE
136 days: Valentine NE

168 days: Fargo ND
165 days: Bismarck ND
160 days: Williston ND

205 days: Youngstown OH
202 days: Cleveland OH
198 days: Akron OH
191 days: Mansfield OH
190 days: Columbus OH
188 days: Dayton OH
186 days: Cincinnati OH
185 days: Toledo OH

163 days: Aberdeen SD
157 days: Sioux Falls SD
154 days: Huron SD
139 days: Rapid City SD

180 days: Madison WI
178 days: Green Bay WI
175 days: Milwaukee WI
173 days: La Crosse WI

Top 10 Cloudiest Places in the Midwest:
01. 209 days: Sault Ste Marie MI
02. 205 days: Grand Rapids MI (MY TOWN)
02. 205 days: Youngstown OH
04. 202 days: Muskegon MI
04. 202 days: Cleveland OH
06. 200 days: Houghton Lake MI
07. 198 days: Akron OH
08. 195 days: Flint MI
09. 194 days: Alpena MI
10. 193 days: South Bend MI

Top 10 Least Cloudiest Places in the Midwest:
01. 105 days: Goodland KS
02. 124 days: Dodge City KS
03. 136 days: Valentine NE
04. 138 days: Scottsbluff NE
05. 139 days: Rapid City SD
06. 140 days: Concordia KS
06. 140 days: Wichita KS
06. 140 days: Grand Island NE
09. 141 days: North Platte NE
10. 146 days: Norfolk NE

SOUTHERN PLAINS:
Average Cloudy Days in a year
136 days: Tulsa OK
130 days: Oklahoma City

162 days: Victoria TX
161 days: Houston TC
153 days: Port Arthur TX
142 days: Corpus Christi TX
141 days: San Antonio TX
138 days: Brownsville TX
138 days: Del Rio TX
136 days: Austin TX
136 days: Waco TX
133 days: Dallas TX
121 days: Abilene TX
120 days: Wichita Falls TX
114 days: San Angelo TX
104 days: Amarillo TX
104 days: Midland TX
103 days: Lubbock TX
072 days: El Paso TX

COLORADO:
120 days: Denver CO
118 days: Colorado Springs CO
107 days: Pueblo CO

UNITED STATES:LOWER 48 STATES
239 days: Astoria OR, Quillayute WA was the cloudiest location
(Mt Washington did come in 245 days)
052 days: Yuma AZ had the least cloudiest days

Source: Compile from NCDC

Mike

 

[Shane Adams]

I love overcast days, especially when it rains all day, and even better when it's cold. I love cold wet October systems that rain on you for days at a time, those rule.

If I wake up to rain, or even better - imminent rain, I love it. Waking up to boring everyday sunny crap sucks. I hate sunny days, unless I'm off work and am drinking cocktails near a pool.

So basically, I hate sunny days.

 

[Bill Hamilton]

I like cloudy weather too but like you I can get to much of it. Usually at the end of the winter months I am ready for some sun. Winter in Oklahoma has been just cold and gloomy for the past few years. Not much in the way of snow or ice. If we do have a real winter I love it, plus it is a great filler until spring storms fire up.

 

[Jeff Wear]

I absolutely hate overcast - especially low stratus that lingers for days and days and days and inhibits surface based storms. That's the thing I like about living in OK - it's fairly rare to get more than 2 or 3 days in a row of solid overcast.

Where I lived in CA before it was common not to see much in the way of sun between late Nov and early Feb. That time of year it's either fog or rain (and sometimes both).

 

[Patrick Kerrin]

Re: Cloudy Weather: Does Anybody really enjoy overcast skies

209 days: Sault Ste Marie MI
205 days: Grand Rapids MI (my town)
202 days: Muskegon MI

We here in SW Ontario also suffer the enhanced cloudiness to the lee of L Huron - November is particularly overcast.

I don't generally like amorphous stratus, and I especially don't like post-FROPA, lake-enhanced dense stratocu (i.e usually from an intrusion of a dry air mass of arctic origin) - when I was about 9 years old I dubbed them "Fall Clouds".

What I do like, and actually love, are altocu (especially with shear induced billows), altostratus, cirrocu, and cirrostratus - with these, the closer to overcast, the better! Unfortunately these are often transient/short-lived.

I, of course, also welcome dense stratocu racing N with a LLJ (i.e. from an intrusion of ample gulf moisture).

 

[Carrie Halliday]

This time of year I like the cloud coverage. Keeps the temps down and my house cooler.
I agree too much is depressing. I like the sun, especially in the early afternoon to aid the convection!

 

[Jeremy Lemanski]

like the clouds in winter when there is snow on the ground, The sun reflecting off the snow is blinding. There nice too in the fall behind a cold front, AKA "fall clouds"

I hate clouds when they screw up daytime heating. :x

 

[Bridget Beddow]

Will you try to get the overcast days in Washington State and then compare it to suicide rates????

We used to joke around up there that the mood up there generally bites b/c of how little sunshine you actually get to see.

All the putt-putt golfs I ever saw were indoors, if that tells you anything...

 

[Jon Miller]

I too am a fellow sufferer of SAD. I hate the months of Nov-Feb due to short days of daylight and cloudy days especially November which is a gray stratus ridden month generally here in Ohio. Fatigue , lethargy and "blue" depressive feelings set in on me like clockwork every year starting in October as the days get shorter and colder - I pray for March to arrive. But even on cold winter days, if the sun is shining I feel somewhat better - I think the sun stimulates your pituitary system to produce more "feel good" brain chemicals- seratonin, dopamine and norepenepherine.

 

[Sarah Albyn]

I hate cloudy days! LIKE TODAY in Chicago It makes you feel sad and not want to do anything or even get out of bed in the morning. I find that I have a real hard time getting up when it is cloudy then when the sun is out.

I don't mind it as much over the weekends when you can stay in bed and do nothing all day. The only thing they are good for is getting a lot of reading done. :wink:

 

[Richard Halter]

no - overcast sucks, sucks, sucks

 

[mikegeukes]

Not a complete list,
I added some more cities.

210 days: 7 months
195 days: 6 1/2 months
180 days: 6 months
165 days: 5 1/2 months
150 days: 5 months
135 days: 4 1/2 months
120 days: 4 months
105 days: 3 1/2 days
090 days: 3 months

Average Cloudy Days in a year
155 days: Birmingham AL
147 days: Mobile AL
070 days: Phoenix AZ
081 days: Tucson AZ
147 days: Little Rock AR
187 days: Eureka CA
103 days: Los Angeles CA
100 days: Sacramentio CA
102 days: San Diego CA
105 days: San Francisco CA

175 days: Hartford CT
164 days: Washington DC
136 days: Daytona Beach FL
099 days: Fort Meyers FL
144 days: Jacksonville FL
107 dyas: Key West FL
115 days: Miami FL
130 days: Orlando FL
134 days: Tallahassee FL
121 days: Tampa FL

131 days: West Palm Beach FL
149 days: Atlanta GA
147 days: Athens GA
152 days: Savannah GA
155 days: Boise ID
174 days: Lexington KY
171 days: Louisville KY
146 days: New Orleans LA
151 days: Shreveport LA
165 days: Portland ME

152 days: Baltimore MD
164 days: Boston MA
150 days: Jackson MS
150 days: Tupelo MS
164 days: Billings MT
208 days: Missoula MT
073 days: Las Vegas NV
114 days: Reno NV
160 days: Atlantic City NJ
087 days: Albuquerque NM

185 days: Albany NY
212 days: Binghamton NY
208 days; Buffalo NY
152 days: New York NY
205 days: Syracuse NY
153 days: Asheville NC
156 days: Cape Hattaras NC
152 days: Charlotte NC
149 days: Raleigh NC
150 days: Wilmington NC

239 days: Astoria OR
222 days: Portland OR
205 days: Erie PA
160 days: Philadelphia PA
203 days: Pittsburgh PA
188 days: Williamsport PA
164 days: Providence RI
155 days: Charleston SC
162 days: Knoxville TN
151 days: Memphis TN

156 days: Nashville TN
139 days: Salt Lake City UT
206 days: Burlington VT
153 days: Norfolk VA
160 days: Richmond VA
239 days: Quillayute WA
226 days: Seattle WA
191 days: Spokane WA
189 days: Charleston WV
133 days: Cheyenne WY

Source: Compile from NCDC

Mike

 

[Simon Andersen]

I like all kinds of weather as long as it keeps changing. The only mode I can stand indefinatly is storms

 

[Dan Robinson]

The only requirement I have of weather to enjoy it is variety. Long periods of any one type of weather get boring after a while, this can even include storms. There have been times in the past when we had so many storm days in a row that I got too exhausted to keep chasing. I remember one prolific week in 1999, going to bed while CGs crashed outside - I was too tired to care.

As long as the weather is changing, I'm happy.

That said, overcast is probably my least favorite, unless there is some type of precip falling. Second to storms, my favorite wx is crystal clear blue sky with temps in the upper 50s to low 60s. Nothing like going out in the mountains with a light jacket on a clear, cool day.

 

[Thomas Loades]

I like cloudy days (on non-convective days) because there's something to look at.