What do Torshavn, Faroe Islands, Chongqing, China and Sao Joaquim, Brazil all have in common?

They are the cloudiest cities in the world.


What You Need To Know

  • Some areas of the world receive very little sunlight year-round

  • There are more cloudy days than sunny days in February for parts of Texas

  • October is one of the clearest months of the year

According to World Atlas, these three locations receive less than 1,065 hours of daylight each year.

Torshavn records an average of 2.4 hours of sunshine per day.

 

This is a much-needed perspective because while some areas around Texas are stuck in the clouds, no city comes close to Torshavn.

Dallas/Ft. Worth cloud cover

Data compiled by Weatherspark.com illustrates the percentage of time an area has any particular cloud cover band.

February features nearly consistent cloud cover in Dallas/Ft. Worth. The sky is either overcast or mostly cloudy 45% of the month. The highest chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is on February 24. A clear sky becomes more persistent during the summer.

Another way to look at the cloudiness during February is through the Iowa Environmental Mesonet, IEM. IEM collects data from weather stations all over. Researchers compile data to understand the weather around us better.

The following figure illustrates when the sky above an ASOS METAR station, or a weather center site, was cloudy or clear. While there is a lot of information to take away from this figure, it's easy to see that during February 2020, more days were cloud covered than clear. That theme is consistent year after year.  

By October 5, the chance of experiencing a clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy sky is 74%. October 5 is considered the clearest day of the year.

Austin cloud cover

Similarly, Austin experiences mainly cloudy conditions during February. Weatherspark.com concludes that the sky in Austin is cloudy, mostly cloudy, or overcast for 44% of the time throughout February.

The clearest day of the month is February 2, when clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions occur 57% of the time.

Much like Dallas, IEM data from 2020 showed more grey days on the figure below than clear days during February.

In June 2020, IEM data showed more clear days than grey days. On average, June 13 is the clearest day of the year, when the chance of a clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy sky is 72%.

San Antonio cloud cover

San Antonio and Austin have a similar cloud analysis during February and June. San Antonio experiences constant cloud cover in February, with the sky overcast or mostly cloudy for about 43% of the month.

The clearest day of the month is February 21. Clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions occur 58% of the time.

IEM data that goes back to 1947 showed more cloudy days than clear days during February 2020.

June 11 is the clearest day of the year. The chance of a clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy sky is 73%.

Do you have a question? You can always connect with me on Twitter and Facebook