Pittsburgh ranked cloudiest city in the USA (Erie, Rochester: live, club)

[Matt Marcinkiewicz]

Originally Posted by 216facts

You have my sympathy, I thought it was really bad up here in Cleveland. Really surprised we didn't make that top ten list. Must get a little more cloudy as you move away from the lake. There should be an outdoor park for kids and adults where they have simulated sun - with LED lamps that emit a similar spectrum, at a safe level.

Only reason it's not is because the list used in the OP sucks. I found a better site, and I'll make a better top ten based off of it:

1. Pittsburgh 2021 sunshine hours annually
2. Anchorage 2061 (admittedly this one isn't included in the 'better' list)
3. Seattle 2170
4. Columbus 2183
5. Buffalo 2207
6. Cleveland 2280
7, Rochester (NY) 2298
8. Cincinnati 2335
9. Portland (OR) 2341
10. Detroit 2436

Even this list clearly draws the line at the top 100 metros...if we were to include places like Syracuse NY and what I once heard to be the cloudiest city in the lower 48, Binghamton NY, upstate NY would probably start to dominate this list.

Also, incidentally, Buffalo as listed as having 54 'clear' days to Pittsburgh's 59.

I'm just here as a Buffalonian trying to one-up everyone here, haha.

Source:

https://www.currentresults.com/Weath...ne-by-city.php

Stats are based on historical averages of sunshine hours from 1961-1990; not sure how using a span of the past 30 would change things.

[Matt Marcinkiewicz]

Originally Posted by Katarina Witt

https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/...pctposrank.txt

Good stuff. Slightly differing data in that Anchorage becomes the 'winner' for cloudiest city in the US using this (if we limit our discussion to cities of a certain size)--those extra X number of years (X varies based on the city) must change things ever so slightly.

[wood_lake]

Originally Posted by screechingweasel

I cannot stress enough the importance of taking vitamin D daily if you live in this region. I started taking it religiously in gummie form last year, and it's made a world of difference. If you live in the Pittsburgh region and vitamin D is not a part of your daily vitamin regime, YOU ARE VITAMIN D DEFICIENT! So go to the drugstore NOW and get some. I think a lot of this area's problems in terms of the odd behavior of yinzers (the way they flip out all the time, depression, alcoholism, etc) is DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTED to this. When you don't get enough Vitamin D it affects your mind, and if you live in Pittsburgh....You get little to none of it naturally. Not from the sun (obviously), and also not from that breaded, greasy, grade-B garbage that comes with a yinzer diet.

I tried explaining this to the locals when I lived in Pittsburgh and they basically treated me like I was lying. It's as if they were "above" having a vitamin d deficiency. Now I am back living in a place with much more sun and people are far more pleasant and approachable.

[Jay_F]

Originally Posted by Matt Marcinkiewicz

Only reason it's not is because the list used in the OP sucks. I found a better site, and I'll make a better top ten based off of it:

1. Pittsburgh 2021 sunshine hours annually
2. Anchorage 2061 (admittedly this one isn't included in the 'better' list)
3. Seattle 2170
4. Columbus 2183
5. Buffalo 2207
6. Cleveland 2280
7, Rochester (NY) 2298
8. Cincinnati 2335
9. Portland (OR) 2341
10. Detroit 2436

Even this list clearly draws the line at the top 100 metros...if we were to include places like Syracuse NY and what I once heard to be the cloudiest city in the lower 48, Binghamton NY, upstate NY would probably start to dominate this list.

Also, incidentally, Buffalo as listed as having 54 'clear' days to Pittsburgh's 59.

I'm just here as a Buffalonian trying to one-up everyone here, haha.

Source:

https://www.currentresults.com/Weath...ne-by-city.php

Stats are based on historical averages of sunshine hours from 1961-1990; not sure how using a span of the past 30 would change things.

Was reading a few days back about the cloudiest places on earth, and some places receive HALF or less sunlight than Pittsburgh annually. One I recall was the Faroe Islands between Norway and Iceland with around 1200 annual hours, and one place I can't remember got less than 1000!

I guess count our blessings, pop some D3 ( mind the K2 as well), and enjoy what seems living in the pages of "All Summer in a Day" November-April.

[DurangoJoe]

That's one of the reasons I left the 'burgh to retire in 2013. Moved west to southwestern Colorado. Low humidity and lots of sunshine make even the winters here pleasant. My sinuses just don't like the summertime humidity in PA and I lived there for 60 years. When the sun is shining, it's intense at high altitude and if there's no wind, you can be outside and active even on cold days. That sun warms you right up. By mid January, my wife & I pull patio chairs out into the sun & relax in shirtsleeves.

I remember back in 2012, I didn't see the sun in Pittsburgh for 11 days straight and every day was lake effect snow, just enough to make roads icy & nasty, no real accumulation. I love the 'burgh and return to visit friends and family at least once a year but...... I love living at high altitude and having the mountains right here to enjoy.

[svband76]

Originally Posted by DurangoJoe

That's one of the reasons I left the 'burgh to retire in 2013. Moved west to southwestern Colorado. Low humidity and lots of sunshine make even the winters here pleasant. My sinuses just don't like the summertime humidity in PA and I lived there for 60 years. When the sun is shining, it's intense at high altitude and if there's no wind, you can be outside and active even on cold days. That sun warms you right up. By mid January, my wife & I pull patio chairs out into the sun & relax in shirtsleeves.

I remember back in 2012, I didn't see the sun in Pittsburgh for 11 days straight and every day was lake effect snow, just enough to make roads icy & nasty, no real accumulation. I love the 'burgh and return to visit friends and family at least once a year but...... I love living at high altitude and having the mountains right here to enjoy.

You're on a Rocky Mountain High? Good for you!

I think we've had one (1) mostly sunny day in 2020. This Saturday may be our second.

[amattaro]

Pittsburgh weather isn’t harsh. It’s just consistently not conducive for being outside.

[TheLawMan]

Originally Posted by screechingweasel

I cannot stress enough the importance of taking vitamin D daily if you live in this region. I started taking it religiously in gummie form last year, and it's made a world of difference. If you live in the Pittsburgh region and vitamin D is not a part of your daily vitamin regime, YOU ARE VITAMIN D DEFICIENT! So go to the drugstore NOW and get some. I think a lot of this area's problems in terms of the odd behavior of yinzers (the way they flip out all the time, depression, alcoholism, etc) is DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTED to this. When you don't get enough Vitamin D it affects your mind, and if you live in Pittsburgh....You get little to none of it naturally. Not from the sun (obviously), and also not from that breaded, greasy, grade-B garbage that comes with a yinzer diet.

Can you explain how you felt before taking vitamin D and after? I've been thinking about starting.

[Charley Barker]

Former upstate NY resident here. Yes, you get a sort of reverse lake effect in the summer (or so the meteorologists would say), whereby the lake water is cooler than the surrounding land masses so you get sinking air over the lakes and generally clearer skies in summer than in Pittsburgh. I think the slate grey winter skies in SWPA are pretty comparable to upstate. But there are definitely temp differences between the two. I used to say that the climate there was "cold and cloudy and windy and wet". My experience in Pittsburgh the past two years is mostly "cloudy and wet". I guess that's some sort of win. ;-)


Fact is, these have been two of the wettest years on record here. With any luck this won't be a trend, in spite of all the climate models predicting just that: warmer at the surface = more evaporation = more precipitation.

[slamont61]

Originally Posted by Katarina Witt

Maybe Minneapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Louis?

Minnie isn't even mentioned in the article which lists the top 10. Guessing much of the cloud cover spent hoovering the Burgh comes up from the south.

We send cold down that way, not clouds.