Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Im curious...I've read that Denver gets around 300 days of sunshine. Albuquerque is listed at 310. However I've heard that the Denver numbers are exaggerated. It's more accurately like 275 because of how the days are counted as "sunny" days. Is Albuquerque the same? Obviously it gets lots of sun, but is it 310 days of full sun? Do you ever get a break? Are all the cloudy days in winter or are they evenly dispersed?
When cities want to brag about their sunny days, they usually use the number of days in which the sun makes an appearance. That doesn't say anything about whether the sun made an appearance for one minute or 13 hours. Both situations would produce "a day of sunshine" according to the definition chambers of commerce like to use.
A better measure is to look at the percentage of sunshine. If you added all the minutes of a year in which the sun actually cast a shadow, and divided it by the total number of minutes between sunrise and sunset...you get percentage of possible sunshine. This is done at a number of airports using equipment that registers a "minute of sunshine" based on the sun's ability to cast a shadow.
So...historically, Albuquerque's average (at the Sunport) is 76 percent. Denver's is about 69 percent.
Here is a link where you can compare various cities. It's a link from 2004 but the numbers should be valid:
anecdotally 310 days "feels" low. It doesnt seem like we get 55 cloudy days a year.
You're right. Although chambers of commerce love to grab the number of days in which the sun makes an appearance and use that as "days of sunshine," I really don't know where anyone got numbers such as 310 days for Albuquerque. The number of days in Albuquerque when the sun refuses to shine can usually be counted on one or two hands. The sunshine sensor at the airport registers some sunshine on approximately 355-360 days each year.
My guess is that the number came from the name of a company...and that company has its own definition of a "day of sunshine" that is related to at least a certain number of hours of sunshine for those days.
Last edited by mrgoodwx; 05-20-2011 at 11:09 AM..
Reason: Accidentally hit send before I finished.
I find it interesting that Albuquerque, New Mexico and Key West, Florida which I have lived in both, have the same percentage 76%. But what a difference in climate...
Rich
Last edited by Poncho_NM; 05-06-2013 at 08:25 PM..
The very first time I drove into New Mexico, there was a sign that stated "Welcome to the Sunshine State." Then...Florida decided they were the sunshine state. If you averaged percent sunshine for New Mexico and Florida, New Mexico would come out ahead...mainly because of the vast area not comprised of mountains. The region of Florida that receives at least 70 percent sunshine is confined to the extreme south and the Keys. By the time you get up to Jacksonville FL...the average is only 63 percent. That's pretty close to the least sunny area of New Mexico, which is along the eastern slopes of the Sangres between Las Vegas and Raton. I guess Key West is a great place to enjoy a heavy dose of sunshine and humidity!
For perspective, I have never heard anyone complain that the sun doesn't shine enough in Albuquerque, but I have heard complaints that it does shine too much for some people (myself included). Long stretches of cloudy or rainy weather over a period of several days are very rare, but long stretches of cloudless skies are very common. Protect your skin.
Sunshine State may refer to the nickname of the Australian state of Queensland, the nickname of the U.S. state of Florida; it also has been used for New Mexico, California, and South Dakota.
Yes, Key West is a great place to experience a lot of ocean, sunshine and humidity and be only 99 miles away from Cuba, be on the southern most point of the continental U.S. But we have relatives in Southern Florida and I grew up in Miami, so I don't really bother to go to Key West anymore.
You asked whether all the cloudy days are in winter or if they are evenly dispersed. Haven't looked at any stats, but I'd guess the majority are in the winter. But we also have some during the summer/fall monsoon season. Although storms that come through then typically don't last all day; we often have some sun before and after when a quick thunder storm moves through.
I love the weather here not only because of the sun but also because the little "bad" weather we do have usually doesn't settle in for lengthy periods. More typically it comes and goes, spectacularly, lasting long enough to generate lots of oohs and aahs but disappearing before you get tired of it.
The city-data page on Albuquerque shows the distribution of sunshine throughout the year:
It shows that June is sunniest, with a dip in sunshine during the monsoons that follow in July and August. December is the least sunny at a "measly" 71%.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
