America's Cloudiest Places in Winter

During December, January and February, heavy cloud concentrates in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. But especially cloudy places in winter can also be found all across the northern US, including in Montana, Michigan and New York.

Out of 260 major weather stations in America that track cloudy days, four—Olympia, Muskegon, Kalispell and Eugene—report heavy overcast on eight out of ten winter days. Heavy overcast is when cloud obscures over three-quarters of the sky.

The rankings consider long-term data from the 260 major weather stations in the US that track cloudy days.

When you add in days of partially cloudy weather, Buffalo, New York moves to the top of the list with 86 cloudy days during winter, or 96% of the season.

The list of cloudiest places doesn't change much, though. Most places that have 75% or more of winter days with heavy overcast, get cloud covering over one-quarter of the sky on at least 90% of winter days. The exceptions are Astoria, Spokane, Quillayute and Juneau.

Partial Cloudy Weather

Warm winter weather in many parts of Florida and Hawaii gets tempered with partially cloudy skies on at least one-third of winter days. These are days when cloud covers between one-quarter and three-quarters of the sky.