Northeast, Midwest to see sunny weekend after week of relentless gloom
Here are a few cities in the East Coast that have experienced average cloud cover at or above 90% for more than a week.
FILE: Weather in America: February 1, 2024
FOX Weather has you covered with the breaking forecasts and weather news headlines for your Weather in America on Thursday, February 1, 2024. Get the latest from FOX Weather Meteorologist Britta Merwin.
Sunshine is in store for many cities that have experienced overcast skies for the past week and for a good portion of January.
This may come as a relief for many Americans who’ve rung in the first month of 2024 under a blanket of gray and gloom.
The FOX Forecast Center selected a few cities to show just how cloudy, partly cloudy and mostly cloudy their January has been.
Cloud cover across the Northeast and Midwest
FILE: An American flag flies over a Buffalo suburb with clouds in the background.
(Brett Carlsen / Getty Images)
At the top of the list is Buffalo, which has seen 31 days of cloudy skies. That means the city has been cloudy every single day of January.
The city has seen between 80 and 100% cloud cover. In fact, 22 of those days were 100% overcast.
Next up is Cleveland, with 26 days of cloudy skies in January. Cleveland has also had about 100% overcast skies since Jan. 23.
MIDWEST CITY RANKS AS HOTTEST IN 2024 HOUSING MARKET DESPITE MOSTLY CLOUDY WEATHER
Another Midwestern city, Detroit, also saw 100% overcast skies during that same time. The Motor City experienced 24 days with cloudy skies in January.
Map showing the Cloudiest Month of the Year (Percent): 1991-2020. Source: ECMWF ERA5. Analysis period: 1950-2023.
(Brian Brettschneider / FOX Weather)
For comparison, Seattle, which has a reputation for clouds and gloomy skies, had slightly less overcast conditions at 93.3% and 26 days of cloudy skies.
In fact, other cities that have had more overcast conditions than Seattle since Jan. 23 include Philadelphia at 94.4%, Chicago at 95.6%, along with Indianapolis and New York City at 97.8%.
Overall, the region has been particularly gloomy since Jan. 23 with several cities catching only a brief glimpse — if any — of blue skies over the past 8 days.
The cloudy trend also occurs throughout other parts of the Northeast and Midwest while not meeting or exceeding the Seattle level of cloudiness.
Washington, D.C., had an average cloud cover of 88.9%, with seven January days of completely overcast skies. Neighboring Baltimore had an average cloud cover of 85.6%, with six days of completely overcast skies.
When the sunshine will return
Dog Sunglasses
(Alan King / Unsplash / FOX Weather)
As February begins, so does the opportunity for sunshine for many Americans.
In Buffalo, clouds still rein supreme on Thursday and Friday, but they will give way to sunnier skies on Saturday and Sunday. Highs will be in the upper 30s and lows in the upper 20s then.
Cloudy Cleveland will begin to see sunshine on Saturday, as well. Much like Buffalo, the city will see highs in the upper 30s and lows in the upper 20s.
Detroit will begin having its clouds clear out starting on Friday and mostly sunny skies will last throughout the weekend. Highs will be in the upper 30s on Friday and Saturday, and then rise to the low 40s on Sunday.
Detroit River as the sun sets over the rooftops of the city. Jan. 14, 2019.
(Boris Roessler / picture alliance / Getty Images)
The sun will begin to make a strong appearance in Philadelphia on Saturday with abundant sunshine in the forecast for Sunday. Highs will be in the mid to upper 40s and lows in the upper 20s and low 30s.
WILL PUNXSATAWNEY PHIL SEE HIS SHADOW FRIDAY ON GROUNDHOG DAY?
Chicago will see a partial clearing of skies on Friday. Sunshine will be more abundant come Saturday and Sunday, and the highs will be in the upper 30s and lows in the low 30s.
A mix of sun and clouds is in store for Indianapolis on Friday. On Saturday, the city will see even more sunshine, along with highs in the upper 40s and lows in the low 30s.
The sun rises behind the pagoda prior to the 106th running of the NTT IndyCar Series Indianapolis 500 on May 29, 2022, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana.
(Jeffrey Brown / Icon Sportswire / Getty Images)
New York City will experience morning showers on Friday, but will see abundant sunshine on Saturday and Sunday with highs in the low to mid 40s and lows in the low 30s.
In Washington, D.C., a mostly cloudy Friday will give way to a weekend full of sunshine. Highs will be in the upper 40s and low 50s, while lows will be in the low 30s.
The weekend in Baltimore will also see an abundance of sunshine. Highs will be in the low 50s and lows will be in the mid 30s.