Just how gloomy is Pittsburgh, some cherry-picked data... (Philadelphia, York: home, to buy)

[Fiddlehead]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

I've generally noticed many photos of Pittsburgh or Pennsylvania in general seem like it is a bit cloudy or recent rain. I don't personally mind that, but just seems like that. If that is the case, perhaps because it is so flat over in Ohio, the clouds have to let off some of the precipitation once they hit the mountains....

I don't have any evidence for that...just observationally speaking...

I think you would be right on. The stats suggest that Pittsburgh has one of the highest rain frequencies in the U.S. 153 days/year. So it rains just about every other day. That is right on par with Portland and Seattle, but the annual pattern is different. Only the PNW coast and mountains of W. Virginia and New England are higher. So, a rainy place to be sure.

This thread was following up on a point be dugdogmaster and others that even if it rains frequently not all days are gloomy. The data support that too. It is cloudy, but not as much as the rain days would suggest. Also, it might rain for just an hour or so.

As an extreme example, in the Colorado Rockies in summer, it rains just about every afternoon, but only or an hour or so, and each morning dawns clear and lovely. I hear it does that in the Amazon too. So, frequent rain yes, oppressive gloom no. Pittsburgh seems to be somewhere in the middle with long rainy spells mixed with showers and thunderstorms in summer.

Sound perfect to me!

[Hopes]

Like it or not, Pennsylvania is considered part of the Great Lakes Region:



The following explains why our area weather changes so frequently:

Overview
"Wait a day and the weather will change" is an apt description of weather in the Great Lakes region, especially in the spring and fall. That's because the region is affected by both warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico and cold, dry air from the Arctic. In general, the north experiences cooler weather, while the south has warmer temperatures. The entire basin experiences four distinct seasons.

The Great Lakes also have a big influence on the climate. Acting as a giant heat sink, the lakes moderate the temperatures of the surrounding land, cooling the summers and warming the winters. This results in a milder climate in portions of the basin compared to other locations of similar latitude. The lakes also act as a giant humidifier, increasing the moisture content of the air throughout the year. In the winter, this moisture condenses as snow when it reaches the land, creating heavy snowfall in some areas, known as "snow belts" on the downwind shores of the lakes. The shores of Lake Superior are prone to this "lake effect" snow and have recorded up to 350 inches of snow in a single year. During the winter, the temperature of the lakes continues to drop. Ice frequently covers Lake Erie but seldom fully covers the other lakes.

Weather and Climate in the Great Lakes Region

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Fiddlehead

This thread was following up on a point be dugdogmaster and others that even if it rains frequently not all days are gloomy. The data support that too. It is cloudy, but not as much as the rain days would suggest. Also, it might rain for just an hour or so.

This map puts Pittsburgh's rain into a national perspective:

[BrianTH]

So I think the statistics suggest the following summary:

(1) Pittsburgh ranks very high among larger U.S. metro areas when it comes to the percentage of days in which there is some rain;

(2) Pittsburgh is actually more middling when it comes to total annual precipitation;

(3) Pittsburgh's precipitation is relatively evenly distributed throughout the year (in comparison to other places where the precipitation is more seasonal); and

(4) Given the common variation within days, Pittsburgh's average cloud cover percentage is lower than one might expect given the percentage of rainy days.

By the way, I knew that Pittsburgh did not feel that different from Detroit to me when it came to cloudiness, so I am glad to see Fiddlehead's statistics support that feeling.

[Tiger Beer]

With the more rain, does it bring any some lushness or growth of plants or trees?

It always seemed like Portland Oregon had a beauty to all the vibrant greens everywhere from the rains...

[bbrian12]

jan, feb, march - cold and dark, snow
apr, may, june - rain
july, aug, sep, and first week or 2 of oct - nice sunny
nov, dec - cold and dark, probable snow


now there are random days that are nice through out the darkness
but there is my breakdown of a year in pgh

spring it rains for like 3 months straight exept for a few days of sunny here and there

usually our summer is july - about the middle of oct
july - august = hot, sunny, very little rain
sept hot, sunny, start to get some cool nights last week or 2 of sept

oct is hit or miss ive seen snow on halloween ive seen 60+ degrees on halloween

nov and dec, cold ,rain, snow, maybe a few random days of 50+ degree wether

and jan - march just sux. cold, snow, dark

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

With the more rain, does it bring any some lushness or growth of plants or trees?

Absolutely--it gets very green and bushy in the spring through the summer around here. It is also a great place for gardening (in part because you don't need to water all that often), and you will see a lot of impressive gardens even on relatively small lots.

[Fiddlehead]

Hopes-Great Map that says a lot about the general pattern. It is somewhat wetter than average, but annual totals are far lower than in some other places. And I agree with your point in a previous thread that the clouds in summer, when it gets warm and humid are a godsend. Best place I recall for that is Denver, CO. When I lived there, every afternoon in summer big clouds would build over the Front Range and shade the city all afternoon. Plenty of rain and lightning too...Perfect!

BrianTH-Great summary. I was mainly trying to point out that it rains frequently, but cloudcover data suggest it does not seem to have permagloom. In the PNW, short daylengths in winter,coupled with relentless clouds, are what really turns folks into couch potatoes... or makes them want to pay big $$$ to drink a lot of Starbucks!

Funny with the gardening comments. The seasonality is certainly a big deal. Here in S. Oregon, with winter rain and valley fog, we are cloudy over 80% of the time from November to Jan., and springs are more mixed but still rainy, so gardens, lawns and wildflowers are lush as can be until May/June. Yet the summers turn so hot and dry that all the hills turn brown and my I struggle to keep my lawn and garden alive each summer (I just reseeded half the back lawn yesterday, for the fifth time!). And if we are real lucky, we get a few good forest fires in late summer to add to the ambiance. Up farther north near Portland, things are still dry in summer, but the coastal clouds push in all summer and keep things cooler and greener. They really do have great summers, but very few warm summer nights or thunderstorms...

[Tiger Beer]

Does Pittsburgh get some nice thunderstorms? I miss the sound of a nice thunderstorm once in awhile.

If I remember correctly, I don't think the Northwest has them at all, does it? Or very few comparitive to east of the Mississippi...

[Fiddlehead]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

If I remember correctly, I don't think the Northwest has them at all, does it? Or very few comparitive to east of the Mississippi...

Right on. There is a temperature inversion throughout most of the PNW in summer (at least west of the Cascades and north of Grants Pass, Oregon), so that low elevations are cooled by marine air pushing in from the coast ,with warm interior air above. This greatly inhibits thunderstorms, which need cool air over warm rising air. They do get a few, but no more than about 5-10/ year. Some great t-storms occur over the desert mountains east of the Cascades, but nothing like the Rockies or Midwest or East.