Dear Tom,
Which states get the most and least amount of sunshine every year?
Chris Fielding
Dear Chris,
Just as sunshine and bright blue skies buoy the human spirit, few aspects of the weather depress us more than gray skies and long sunless periods. For most of us, then, summer is the season of preference because, among other positive weather attributes, it brings the greatest amount of sunshine, whereas winter brings maximum cloudiness. Among the lower 48 states, only Florida experiences less sun in summer (and only very slightly less) than in winter. National Weather Service statistics indicate that Arizona is the nation’s sunniest state (followed by California, Nevada and New Mexico) and Washington is its cloudiest (followed by Oregon, Michigan and Maine).
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Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or asktomwhy@wgntv.com (Mail volume precludes personal response.)
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
