Winter Skies (Erie, Scranton, Altoona: how much, school, college)

[chiak]

Looking at the winter climate data, they will tell you how much sun and snow an area gets, but it is better described by those who live there. A cloudy day can still "feel" relatively sunny if there is some blue sky peaking out!!

I have read that western PA has grey winters and I have read that New England States to the east have grey winters. What do the skies feel like in Central PA and NEPA? Does winter have a dreary feeling due to lack of sun? And then is there a big difference within these regions?

Chicago supposedly has a lot of "cloudy days", but winters feel sunny enough to me! Many of those days are Partly cloudy allowing plenty of blue skies and sun to shine through! But it is very flat around here- I am wondering if the mountains/elevation has a big affect on the weather of a certain area. Do certain areas have more cloudy weather because clouds get trapped by the mountains?

For example- is it very different in Lewisburg or State College being they are up in the mountainous area versus down in Altoona or Harrisburg? Same for Scranton versus surrounding areas?

[lialleycat]

Interesting question Chiak!

I'm hoping you get some good responses! As a sufferer of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), the amount of sun in the winter is a big deal to me. I've noticed this year, though it's been a cold, snowy winter it hasn't dragged on in endless gray days as last year seemed to. At least that's my perspective from Long Island, NY. I'm hoping for about the same or less cloudcover in PA when I move.

[Dawne]

I find that our winter skies tend to be bluer than our summer skies here in central PA. In summer it's often very humid and hazy. Winter has its humid days too, but it tends to be dryer and the sky is often blue. It's deceiving sometimes because you think it's nice out but then you go outside and need a coat. If you're in your car you often have to remove your coat during a sunny winter day.

[ghandi 1920]

Originally Posted by chiak

But it is very flat around here- I am wondering if the mountains/elevation has a big affect on the weather of a certain area. Do certain areas have more cloudy weather because clouds get trapped by the mountains?

For example- is it very different in Lewisburg or State College being they are up in the mountainous area versus down in Altoona or Harrisburg? Same for Scranton versus surrounding areas?

Yes, the mountains in Pennsylvania are so damn tall that the clouds (being completely soild objects) bump into them and get stuck behind them. So, anywhere there are mountains, its always cloudy because the clouds get trapped.

[chiak]

Thank you very much! Your information as residents is much more helpful than any of the data charts!

I saw that Harrisburg had a good number of sunny days on one chart and then read a comment about gloomy, grey, winter skies in State College. So from the post above I assume State College is in the mountains whereas Harrisburg is not? Is that correct?

It is helpful to get information from locals because the smaller towns are never included in the charts!

[ghandi 1920]

Originally Posted by chiak

Thank you very much! Your information as residents is much more helpful than any of the data charts!

I saw that Harrisburg had a good number of sunny days on one chart and then read a comment about gloomy, grey, winter skies in State College. So from the post above I assume State College is in the mountains whereas Harrisburg is not? Is that correct?

It is helpful to get information from locals because the smaller towns are never included in the charts!

Yes, it's because State College is in the mountains. The meteorology program at Penn State is very strong and they, along with the school of engineering, are developing methods of lassoing the clouds that are stuck behind the mountains and pulling the clouds away with helicopters. And they're going to take them to places that need rain, whether the clouds want to go or not.

Are you really serious in asking this question?...

"But it is very flat around here- I am wondering if the mountains/elevation has a big affect on the weather of a certain area. Do certain areas have more cloudy weather because clouds get trapped by the mountains?"

[chiak]

[quote=ghandi 1920;7628298]pulling the clouds away with helicopters. And they're going to take them to places that need rain, whether the clouds want to go or not. quote]

Cute!! Yes, I am very serious about asking. I know that the larger mountins in the Pacific Northwest affect weather, but I have never been to the northeast and don't know what towns are in the mountains nor if the mountains affect the areas around them since their elevations are not nearly as high.

The perspective of weather from someone living in a certain area gives much better insight than any other research I have seen; so Dawne's info was much appreciated!

[bnepler]

Lived near Harrisburg for 51 years and always hated the dreary and gloomy winter skies. I guess that's why I like living here with the brilliant blue skies of Florida all year long!!

[ghandi 1920]

Originally Posted by chiak

[Cute!! Yes, I am very serious about asking. I know that the larger mountins in the Pacific Northwest affect weather, but I have never been to the northeast and don't know what towns are in the mountains nor if the mountains affect the areas around them since their elevations are not nearly as high.

Okay, i was being a smartass. The weather "produced" by mountain ranges on the Pacific coast, especially those in the Pacific Northwest, is a rain-shadow effect. Meaning, as moisture-laden systems move off the coast to land (where the mountains are actually tall enough), clouds will rise over the mountains and as they rise they adiabatically cool and release their moisture as rain (hence cities like Seattle and Portland being characterized by a wet climate). On the eastern side of these mountain ranges, the clouds have mainly dissipated and are no longer heavily moisture-laden... therefore, you have dry climates (think Bend, Oregon).

This does not happen in the eastern US at all for a number of reasons. The mountain range running up the eastern seaboard, the Appalachians, have nothing to do with the overall climate of the region (you'll get small heat islands and temperature inversions in the valleys, but they do not determine whether the sky is sunny or cloudy by any means whatsoever). For the most part, the closer you are to the Atlantic coast, the sunnier the skies throughout the winter. The further west you go, you will find cloudier skies in general throughout the winter (the Great Lakes screw with this a bit on their southern/eastern shores, but still the rule generally holds). I don't think you'd see a whole hell of a lot of difference in the skies between NE PA and central PA... pretty cloudy and gray in the late fall, winter, and early spring. Maybe a little bit sunnier, but not all that much different than Chicago. Chicago is strongly characterized by a continental climate. The areas of PA that you mention have more of a maritime influenced climate, but not completely. Winter skies: continental climate = cloudier; maritime climate = sunnier

[psulions2007]

State College, over the course of a year, is actually cloudier than Seattle (though, this mainly occurs because summers in State College often have occasional thunderstorms, whereas summers in Seattle are more sunny). During the winter, after a front/snowstorm goes through, there is often light snow flurries and/or clouds coming off of Lake Erie (not serious accumulation from these, since they've mostly snowed themselves out by the time they get to SC, but they still are very much there).

However, these clear out after usually a day or so. There are many days over the course of the winter where you will get a deep, blue sky...and this is the best part because it is that cobalt blue sky that is absolutely beautiful...and you learn to appreciate this sunshine more than, say, where I live now in Aribleepingzona.

Central PA is great because you don't get endless snow, you get just enough to feel happy with it (except in very, very unusual cases like 1997 when there was only 2.x" of snow all winter)

The mountains in Central PA are nothing like Washington or British Columbia where you get significant precipitation differences between Seattle and Spokane or Vancouver and Kamloops; however, there are some microscale effects such that a cell of snow that is producing heavy snow, say in Johnstown, can be affected by the mountains so by the time it gets to Altoona, it is only moderate snow. This happens in summer a lot, too, in State College when there is a severe thunderstorm cell in Clearfield, it is usually no longer severe when it reaches State College (exceptions occur when individual cells/lines move parallel to the mountains as opposed to crossing them)


Anywho, I personally loved winter in State College and I wish I was back now. Hope this thread helps you out (from one of those aforementioned PSU-educated meteorologists!)