Dear Tom,
My parents, who live in Michigan, tell me that Michigan is the second cloudiest state. Is this true?
Kathy, Aurora, Ill.
Dear Kathy,
The dubious title of cloudiest state in the nation goes to Washington, with Michigan appearing second, followed by Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine in third through fifth places
All five states lie within easy and frequent reach of moist air originating from nearby large bodies of water and all, even Michigan, have highlands that generate cloudiness when winds carry moist air over them. And all lie near major storm tracks.
Michigan lacks mountains but it is practically surrounded by four Great Lakes (Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie) that create clouds and snow squalls in the winter and stratus clouds and fog during the summer.
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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.
