Any Sunshine in the Winters in Western MI?

[sheena12]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

I used to live in New Hampshire, Michigan is far cloudier than New Hampshire, as most of the population in NH is on the leeward side of the Appalachian Mountains. Michigan is downwind from the Great Lakes, so the typical prevailing wind direction will create more cloud cover by default.

For the reason stated above, none of the Great Lake's states are known for their sunshine.

I've spent a significant amount of time in the following areas, and they are slightly sunnier than Michigan and Ohio - Central Massachusetts, Lower Vermont, Connecticut, NY State, Southern Tier, New York City, Long Island, and Eastern PA.

Summers are pleasantly cool, Fall is beautiful, but a sunny day is a rare event.

[Zenstyle]

The sun does indeed shine in winter in West Michigan!
You’ll know when it does because the office buildings and homes will empty out and the populace will stream outside, faces upturned in wonder.

[GraniteStater]

At least in the UP of Michigan you have more consistent snow cover to go along with the cloud cover.

[simonusa3]

Originally Posted by n8ivmainah

Hey folks, looking for some help.
first off I was raised on an island in Maine. So I'm familiar with cold winters. I was also in the Army in Ft. Drum NY, outside of Watertown, which is called Snow Town USA. So, I'm familiar with lake effect snow.

But I've lived in the South for basically the last 35 years. As I get older, I'm 53, the humidity and heat of the summers really get to me, and I miss being around water too. My wife though is from Virginia and while she can tolerate snow and cold it's the gray that brings her down.

Do you guys get much sun in the winter or is overcast for like 3 months straight like it is in Maine?

Love to hear any thoughts on this. Thanks!

This map might help from the NOAA public info site.

December is the cloudiest month (on average) in the USA as a whole. You can see, that the areas that get the least winter sun are in the Pacific Northwest, around the Great Lakes, and in northern New England. Areas on the West Coast from San Fran southward, the deserts and southern plains, and East Coast from Rhode Island south get the most sun. In summer the differences are far less between most of the mainland.

Hope this helps.

[michigan lizard]

Originally Posted by n8ivmainah

Man, that's interesting. Actually warmer than the hinterlands. Good to know. Thanks!

Remember the winter with the crazy polar vortex? It was bad here, but it was significantly better than many states much farther south.