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I would agree. I think the last three years has been cloudier than average, particularly winter. The 30 year average would capture some years with high sunshine and even the numbers out. I'll bet the last three years in Seattle have been way above.
Down here in the Southwest, it appears that Yuma, Palm Springs, and Sun City - Menifee - Perris - are the sunniest cities in the USA, in terms of the number of Clear days. But I have more research to do.
Phoenix has summer thunderstorms so doesn't qualify and Vegas, Havasu, and Laughlin - Bullhead City are too far north.
For your area I used the Rhode Island site near the coast. 2013 = 2331, 2014 = 2240, and 2015 = 2355 hours.
The three year average for there is 2308 hours. Not quite 2400 hours.
I appreciate you taking your time to do that. Although I'm probably about as close to Rhode Island as I am to Pennsylvania. I imagine the immediate coast of New England isn't as sunny as here either, I know the south shore of Long Island gets socked in with clouds more often than I do.
Either way, the sunshine hours don't appear to be as grossly inflated as many had thought.
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Just out of curiosity I checked the data for a site in western Kansas for 2013. They had over 3,000 hours. I didn't check any other years, but that matches up closely with western Kansas average of 3,125 hours for 1981-2010.
For your area I used the Rhode Island site near the coast. 2013 = 2331, 2014 = 2240, and 2015 = 2355 hours.
The three year average for there is 2308 hours. Not quite 2400 hours.
Just out of curiosity I checked the data for a site in western Kansas for 2013. They had over 3,000 hours. I didn't check any other years, but that matches up closely with western Kansas average of 3,125 hours for 1981-2010.
Not to rain on the sunny parade but we all know 2 locations even not far apart can have different results. So heads up.
I sure witness this almost everyday where there are scattered clouds around (not High pressure with full sun of course). I will have sun for 3 hours while NYC 4 hours. Ect.
Avondale is 1 hour from Philly. So even if Avondale has an extra 20 minutes of clouds that block the sun on average, Philly will be much more sunnier for the year. Right?
Using Rhode Island for Long Island or CT is pointless.
So this is all estimates and only good for that specific location. But if you're looking for a general idea I guess its ok.
Also solar radiation and sunshine. Can't you get solar radiation when its cloudy (with thin mid-high level clouds) or dim?
NWS used to record sunshine hours because observations were done manually. Until the 1990s when observations turned into automatic stations. (world of digital technology). These automatic stations are only capable of recording Solar radiation.
So where are all the NWS Climo Stations on that list? None in MA? None in CT? Where's NYC? Where's Hartford? Islip? Do those stations not record solar radiation?
Makes sense, middle of continent, low annual precipitation.
Average annual precipitation ranges from about 21 inches in Winnipeg area,
to just over 10 inches in SW Saskachewan- SE Alberta (almost desert around
the Great Sand Hills to Dinosaur Provincial Park).
Midwest US gets double, NE US more than double the precip.
Not to rain on the sunny parade but we all know 2 locations even not far apart can have different results. So heads up.
I sure witness this almost everyday where there are scattered clouds around (not High pressure with full sun of course). I will have sun for 3 hours while NYC 4 hours. Ect.
Avondale is 1 hour from Philly. So even if Avondale has an extra 20 minutes of clouds that block the sun on average, Philly will be much more sunnier for the year. Right?
Using Rhode Island for Long Island or CT is pointless.
So this is all estimates and only good for that specific location. But if you're looking for a general idea I guess its ok.
Also solar radiation and sunshine. Can't you get solar radiation when its cloudy (with thin mid-high level clouds) or dim?
Not 120watts. That is the point of bright sunshine and the calculator. It is averaging 10 second intervals of "bright sunshine".
Oh so sunshine stats include the moments its "bright" outside? I didnt know that but it reminds me why I dont look at those stats.
Im more interested in knowing when the sun is actually viewable but I guess that needs to be manually recorded. Does Anyone wanna stare at the sky all day?
Actually... with webcams now a common thing, we should utilize them. Record the sky throughout the day then play the animation and record the actual number of minutes the sun was out. Who will be first to start? Lol
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