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Sun? What sun? So far this year in May we have not seen a full day of sun. In fact probably only a few hours worth near the coast.
Here's a graphic of sky cover for the month of May for past 5 years including the rain total for the month.
• Bridgeport and Philly has not had any clear days this year so far. Philly usually doesn’t have many in May though.
• Rain amounts have increased in Bridgeport each May since 2007
• Looks like Interior sections had more rain then the coast in 2007.
• Usually there are more Partly Cloudy days then Cloudy days in May, but this year there are more Cloudy days then P.Cloudy so far.
• Philadelphia gets 3.4 days of full sun in May on average last 5 years.
Sun? What sun? So far this year in May we have not seen a full day of sun. In fact probably only a few hours worth near the coast.
Here's a graphic of sky cover for the month of May for past 5 years including the rain total for the month.
• Bridgeport and Philly has not had any clear days this year so far. Philly usually doesn’t have many in May though.
• Rain amounts have increased in Bridgeport each May since 2007
• Looks like Interior sections had more rain then the coast in 2007.
• Usually there are more Partly Cloudy days then Cloudy days in May, but this year there are more Cloudy days then P.Cloudy so far.
• Philadelphia gets 3.4 days of full sun in May on average last 5 years.
I wonder if this was always the case, or just the last five years. It does seem that May is just turning out to be really cloudy the last few years. Today is no different. Not one minute of sun today. Not just us though. I'm pretty sure Baltimore and DC are faring as bad as we are in the sun department. The coast of NJ has been worse if the beach cams are any indication. We do average less than New England though with 2498 hours of sun and 93 clear days annually vs. 2634 hours and 98 clear days for Boston, but that graphic you showed makes us look much cloudier. Wonder why we are so much cloudier than you guys these last five years.
What is going on with the weather that it is so cloudy this year, any thoughts?
We have had 8 straight days of cloud cover, not including today which is yet again cloudy. Maybe a couple days had an hour here or there of sun. I don't remember this many cloudy days in a row for a long time. So I would say maybe 5 hours of sun so far. Gotta love the extremes we get in these continental climates. Not!
Agreed. I think this is longer than that stretch we had last spring.
It's a pity you don't have actual sunshine figures to compare with what I would consider a notably dull spell. The 6.2 hours after nine days we've had here wouldn't be worth mentioning in midwinter (an eight-day spell in January 2011 had 1.8 hours and then just after that we had eight days with only 0.9 hours) but for May that's quite impressive - it's literally been cloudy nearly 95% of the daylight hours. Has it rained a lot there? Here the pavements have been semi-permanently damp for weeks even when it's only rained 1-2mm that day - very typical for winter but it's getting a bit old now.
Friday to Monday had off and on sunshine here; the complete cloudiness was more of a coastal thing. Monday was almost completely clear with the rest partly cloudy with some mostly cloudy times. We had about 0.4" inches of rain in the last few days and 0.75" in the first few days of the month (odd don't remember it much; I think I was asleep during much of that rain). Still there was a lot of time with cloud and no rain.
The sunshine we've had so far probably isn't too far from average.. I'm not sure though. I've certainly not noticed more cloud than usual. Most mornings have been completely sunny.
It seems to be one of the longest cloudy stretches I can remember. And if the 15 day forecast holds up this could turn out to be a record cloudy month. Not much rain really. That is why I am asking what is going on. Is there some upper level low just stuck over us?
This wind rose is from the US Air Force for Philadelphia Intl Airport. Notice how our winds in May should be out of the dry and sunny southwest, yet nothing but east and northeast the entire month. I'm wondering why our winds though are so fixed from the east this month.
I wonder if this was always the case, or just the last five years. It does seem that May is just turning out to be really cloudy the last few years. Today is no different. Not one minute of sun today. Not just us though. I'm pretty sure Baltimore and DC are faring as bad as we are in the sun department. The coast of NJ has been worse if the beach cams are any indication. We do average less than New England though with 2498 hours of sun and 93 clear days annually vs. 2634 hours and 98 clear days for Boston, but that graphic you showed makes us look much cloudier. Wonder why we are so much cloudier than you guys these last five years.
What is going on with the weather that it is so cloudy this year, any thoughts?
Not one poke of sun here either. Its getting crazy now. 9 days. Different story further inland you go. Even Hartford, CT seen a clear day this month but the coast not.
What I think is that the Waters are warmer then usual therefore creating the low level moisture/condensation/clouds. Also, atmosphere is complex above us & might be cooler than thought which in turn creates instability with a warm surface. Thats the only reasons I can think of right now.
My forecast shows sunny this weekend then mostly cloudy again.
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