One other leftover stat from the month of April in Syracuse is the sunny weather. At 66% it was the 4th sunniest April on record. We had about 1/3 more sunshine this past April than in a normal April. We were going at such a great clip with sunshine toward the end of the month that the last half of April we averaged 80% sunshine! I read something from the Buffalo National Weather Service that they had their sunniest April on record. We certainly aren’t going to be challenging Arizona or Florida for sunshine anytime soon but the April numbers are remarkable none the less especially when you think of all the ways we can get clouds this time of year.
Last week we had some pretty chilly air over us early in the week. That’s why the frosty mornings but also the reason for some clouds. As the lower atmosphere tries to heat up the air rises, cools and causes clouds. As the cool air left, milder air tried to return. That milder air was forced to rise up and over the relatively cool air still down at the ground over us. The rising motions may not be as great as when the air aloft over us is chilly but it’s still enough for clouds. Add to that any time a front or area of low pressure moves close by (thanks to a usually active spring-time jet stream) figure clouds again. Then, of course, you can include lake effect clouds at times early in the month if the air aloft is cool enough and the wind is out of the northwest. When you start listing all these mechanisms for clouds it’s a wonder we even average 50% sunshine during the month of April.
Stay tuned, next week we will unveil the 2008 Summer Forecast. The forecast will show up first during the evening newscast next Thursday (May 15th) but I will post something in the blog section Thursday evening to go into more detail about how we came up with the forecast.
