Pittsburgh weather? (Braddock, Penn: neighborhood, best, trees)

[Bong477]

Weather is all relative, it just depends what you compare it to.

The only thing that Pittsburgh really stands out for is there are a lot of overcast days. Its not that bad in my opinion, but it is noticable. There is a decent amount of rain, usually more on the drizzle side than downpour.

Winters are kind of cold, but not absolutely frigid. It snows a fair amount, but usually only a small amount (an inch or two) at a time. Summers are called humid here by a lot of people, but its nothing like say Florida or even Washington, DC.

We just had a stretch of really beautiful sunny days without any rain, now we're back to chilly, drizzle, and overcast.

[guylocke]

We just had a stretch of really beautiful sunny days without any rain, now we're back to chilly, drizzle, and overcast.

To be honest, I really like that. I like a lot of variety. I start getting bored with sunny after so long and I start getting bored with rainy after so long!

[raynist]

The weather is not as bad as people make it seem on here and a few people in here bash the weather ever chance they get. In the winter, a completely sunny, cloudless day is rare but it does happen. There can be several overcast days in a row, but the sun often shines. The sky may have quite a few clouds in it but the sun still shines between the clouds.

In the summer a cloudless day is not so uncommon. What is more common here is what you would call a Partly Sunny or Partly Cloudy day. There may be 30% cloud cover, but the sun is out. It may be obscured for a few minutes as a cloud passes by but it comes back out.

I lived in the Orlando area for 2 years and my Wife and Mother in law lived there most of their lives. We really don't see a remarkable difference in the Spring/Summer/Fall. Florida definately has more sun in the winter.

[Humanoid]

There is nothing really relative about this stuff, government data suggests Pittsburgh has on average only 60 clear days a year. The rest are either partly cloudy or full clouds, although partly cloudy in Pittsburgh is usually pretty cloudy. Pittsburgh is also humid in the summer with humidity up to 90%.

[Katarina Witt]

I swore I was never going to get into another weather discussion again, but this stuff drives me crazy!

Here is a link to the National Weather Service cloudiness data. This was just posted recently on another Pittsburgh thread. Now mind you, I don't have a big probelm with cloudy days. I grew up in Pgh and I still (occasionally) miss the cloudiness, though I've learned to like the sun more the longer I live here. Nevertheless, Humanoid is right. This is not a matter of opinion. Whether you like it or not is a matter of opinion.

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/...ccd/clpcdy.txt

CL=Clear
P= Partly cloudy
C=Cloudy

The NWS has some definitons of the above, as well, if anyone cares to search for them. In general, I believe clear is 0-30% cloud cover, PC is 31-60% and cloudy is >60%. Something like that anyway.

[kpoeppel]

It's very cloudy and gloomy in the winter. There's no sugar-coating that.

However, late spring, summer, and early fall have a good deal of sunshine. Yes, it's rare to have days with NO clouds...but is that such a big deal? Those "partly cloudy" days with the nice puffy white cumulus clouds or high/thin cirrus clouds are still bright and cheery. I also think those types of clouds are interesting to look at and beautiful in their own right.

It's those wintertime, low, grey, bland stratus clouds that really get me down. The short daylight hours don't help either. If you've got seasonal affective disorder, or are used to a sunny climate, you probably won't like Pittsburgh. If you are used to typical New England / Great Lakes climate, you probably won't notice a huge difference.

[BrianTH]

I don't see anyone questioning the cloudiness statistics, so I am not sure why people are implying there is some sort of dispute about those statistics per se.

Of course, people (including me) are pointing out there is a lot more to weather conditions (and environment conditions in general) than cloudiness. And the cloudiness statistics don't address those other issues.

[londonbarcelona]

Originally Posted by Katiana

I swore I was never going to get into another weather discussion again, but this stuff drives me crazy!

Here is a link to the National Weather Service cloudiness data. This was just posted recently on another Pittsburgh thread. Now mind you, I don't have a big probelm with cloudy days. I grew up in Pgh and I still (occasionally) miss the cloudiness, though I've learned to like the sun more the longer I live here. Nevertheless, Humanoid is right. This is not a matter of opinion. Whether you like it or not is a matter of opinion.

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/...ccd/clpcdy.txt

CL=Clear
P= Partly cloudy
C=Cloudy

The NWS has some definitons of the above, as well, if anyone cares to search for them. In general, I believe clear is 0-30% cloud cover, PC is 31-60% and cloudy is >60%. Something like that anyway.

WOW, is Pittsburgh that cloudy? I mean, I know it's cloudy. But so is Buffalo where I grew up and I swear, other than some grey short days in the winter and the long cold, grey springs, I could swear I remember over half the days being pretty nice in the winter and the summer.

So, when it says "cloudy" does that mean all day? Or just part of the day? See, that's where the statistics get me. Cuz in the Northeast the day can start out cloudy, but clear up by noon. Now, me, being a night owl thinks thats perfectly fine. I'm not up until noon. (Oh just kidding!)
But do you get what I'm saying? You and I live in west now where the sun is ALWAYS shining, even at 4 o'clock in the morning in the summertime! But on the east coast, is a "pretty decent day" a day where it's mostly sunny?

I'm just trying to get an "honest" feel for what a cloudy day is really like in Pittsburgh. To me, a cloudy day is grey and dreary. Partly cloudy is great outdoor weather and if it's just a "little bit cloudy" you can get in a few hours of sunbathing. And of course sunny days are to be worshiped and spent at the beach! Oh that's right, there is no beach in Pittsburgh........ maybe near a river or the pool?

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by londonbarcelona

So, when it says "cloudy" does that mean all day? Or just part of the day? See, that's where the statistics get me. Cuz in the Northeast the day can start out cloudy, but clear up by noon. Now, me, being a night owl thinks thats perfectly fine. I'm not up until noon. (Oh just kidding!)
But do you get what I'm saying? You and I live in west now where the sun is ALWAYS shining, even at 4 o'clock in the morning in the summertime! But on the east coast, is a "pretty decent day" a day where it's mostly sunny?

Personally, for just this reason the cloudiness statistic I find most useful is the percentage of possible sunshine, which as I understand it takes the hours of possible sunshine, meaning basically sunrise to sunset, and then calculates what percentage of those hours are actually sunny (on average).

If I recall correctly, Pittsburgh's annual average by this measure is 45%, so that is indeed close to about half the possible hours being sunny over the course of a year. And I believe from roughly May through October the sunny percentage is over 50%, but it is much lower from November through April. Of course Pittsburgh residents already knew it was sunnier in the warmer half of the year than the colder half, but it is nice to know the statistics confirm that.

Edit: I just looked up Buffalo and it is indeed similar: 48% overall, 50%+ from May through October, considerably less November through April.

[londonbarcelona]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Personally, for just this reason the cloudiness statistic I find most useful is the percentage of possible sunshine, which as I understand it takes the hours of possible sunshine, meaning basically sunrise to sunset, and then calculates what percentage of those hours are actually sunny (on average).

If I recall correctly, Pittsburgh's annual average by this measure is 45%, so that is indeed close to about half the possible hours being sunny over the course of a year. And I believe from roughly May through October the sunny percentage is over 50%, but it is much lower from November through April. Of course Pittsburgh residents already knew it was sunnier in the warmer half of the year than the colder half, but it is nice to know the statistics confirm that.

Edit: I just looked up Buffalo and it is indeed similar: 48% overall, 50%+ from May through October, considerably less November through April.

Thanks. I thought Buffalo was similar to Pittsburgh, that's why I always compare them. However, the winters in Buffalo are WAY snowier and colder than Pittsburgh's!

Yeah, I think that the greyness is not as bad as some statistics make it sound. (No offense Katiana) And of course the winters are grey - it's the east coast and it's winter!!! Besides, in the winter, you are mostly inside, so the cloudiness isn't as noticeable, IMO.