Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and remember how dry it was during the late Summer and early Fall months.

Both August and September were shockingly sunny and dry- even spurring a flash drought that was quickly subdued by heavy fall rains. Now, things seem to be worlds apart.

In the past week and a half, there have only been two stretches of time where there has been abundant sunshine across our area- the last two Mondays for a couple of hours- even as high pressure regularly strolls past our area. Basically, when there’s no rain, you’d better bet our area is overcast.

While the abundance of clouds can be frustrating for some, there’s actually a meteorological reason why this happens so often around the Valley.

Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania are currently in the midst of “cloud season”, most of which can be blamed on the neighboring Great Lakes. As cold, arctic air plunges south into the region, this air interacts with the warmer air closer to the lakes. Water and air have different specific heats, that is, the amount of energy needed to heat them up. As the specific heat content of water is four times higher than that of the air around it, this can explain why lake and ocean temperatures lag behind more volatile air temperatures.

As relatively stable warm lake air interacts with cold air aloft, the air becomes unstable. Unstable air rises, then cools and condenses, forming clouds.

During the cold season, winds predominantly come from the North and West. Around Youngstown, this would mean winds would be coming from the lakeshore. As winds move through, they convey the clouds over to our area, where they can overstay their welcome.

If this sounds eerily similar to a lake-effect setup, that is because this is the exact process, just without the snow or rain involved. Lake-effect snow can only form if the temperature difference over the lake is high enough, while clouds do not need as big a gradient.

This process is much more defined during the winter months. That’s because temperature changes as you ascend the atmosphere are much more pronounced during this time, making it more common for these events to occur. In Youngstown, overcast days peak during the months of December and January, where as much as two-thirds of the time can be spent under overcast skies.

To understand the monthly variation in cloudy skies, the last two months show the change perfectly- November’s conditions were overcast 53% of the time, more than double the 24%rate it was throughout October.

Because of Youngstown’s placement relative to typical winds and the Great Lakes, the city is one of the cloudiest in the country. Other Rust Belt cities, such as Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo, can also see upwards of 200 cloudy days per year. Across the country, the Pacific Northwest is also known for being unusually cloudy. Cities like Seattle and Portland can also have over 60% of days being overcast, though for slightly different reasons.

A lack of moisture around the Desert Southwest allows places like Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Yuma, Arizona, to be subjected to cloudy skies less than 100 days a year, half of what we experience in our region.

Seattle’s cloudy and rainy reputation holds, as it can be considered the cloudiest major city in the country. Its place as number one means 226 of its days are considered “cloudy” at some point. Cities around and east of the Great Lakes are also mainstays on the list, such as neighboring Pittsburgh and Cleveland. While this list only counts cities with a metropolitan population of over a million, Youngstown would be firmly within the list, with around 200 cloudy days per year.