Dear Tom,
Last year was gloomy. What percentage of sunshine did we have in 2006?
Nick
Dear Nick,
Your perception that 2006–from the standpoint of cloud cover and sunshine–was a bit gloomier than typical, is correct. Climatologist Frank Wachowski crunched the numbers and found that Chicago received only 51 percent of its possible sunshine, making last year the cloudiest here since 1997 (49 percent). Chicago typically averages 54 percent of possible sunshine annually. The monthly averages range from highs of 68 percent in June and July, to a low of 39 percent in December. In 2006, only two months, February and April, received more sun than normal. Sunshine percentages are the number of minutes of sun actually received compared to the total amount of sunshine possible each day between sunrise and sunset.
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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.
