Sunniest Places During Winter in the US

Arid regions of Arizona, Texas and other western states dominate the list of places where the sun shines most during winter in the United States. Sunny winters also happen in Florida and Kansas.

Yuma in western Arizona is the sunniest place in the United States during December, January and February.

The desert city is the only spot on record where the sun shines for over 80 percent of winter's daylight hours and where more than half the days are clear.

Out of 164 places that do measure sun, just 20 see the sun's rays hitting the ground in winter for at least two-thirds of the time on average between sunrise and sunset.

Of course, places located farther south have more minutes of daylight in a winter day and so more time available for the sun to shine. That means 66 percent sun, for instance, works out to more hours of sunshine at Key West in southern Florida than at more northern Reno or Dodge City.

Places with the most sunshine on average during December, January and February

Place	% Sunshine
Yuma, Arizona	84
Tucson, Arizona	80
El Paso, Texas	79
Las Vegas, Nevada	79
Phoenix, Arizona	78
Redding, California	76
Flagstaff, Arizona	74
Key West, Florida	74
Pueblo, Colorado	73
San Diego, California	72
Albuquerque, New Mexico	72
Los Angeles, California	71
Denver, Colorado	69
Amarillo, Texas	68
Ely, Nevada	68
Midland-Odessa, Texas	67
Roswell, New Mexico	66
Dodge City, Kansas	66
Miami, Florida	66
Reno, Nevada	66

Most Clear Days in Winter

Less than a fifth of places around the US that record cloud cover have mainly clear skies in winter for ten or more days a month. When measuring weather, clear skies means cloud covering up to 30 percent of the sky during daylight hours.

Places that average at least ten clear days a month during December, January and February

Location	Clear Days a Month
Yuma, Arizona	16
El Paso, Texas	14
Las Vegas, Nevada	14
Los Angeles, California	14
Phoenix, Arizona	14
Tucson, Arizona	14
Alamosa, Colorado	13
Albuquerque, New Mexico	13
Clayton, New Mexico	13
Roswell, New Mexico	13
Santa Maria, California	13
Winslow, Arizona	13
Amarillo, Texas	12
Bishop, California	12
Flagstaff, Arizona	12
Kahului, Hawaii	12
Long Beach, California	12
Lubbock, Texas	12
Midland, Texas	12
Odessa, Texas	12
San Angelo, Texas	12
San Diego, California	12
Abilene, Texas	11
Colorado Springs, Colorado	11
Dodge City, Kansas	11
Fort Myers, Florida	11
Goodland, Kansas	11
Key West, Florida	11
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	11
Pueblo, Colorado	11
Wichita Falls, Texas	11
Apalachicola, Florida	10
Concordia, Kansas	10
Dallas, Texas	10
Del Rio, Texas	10
Denver, Colorado	10
Fort Worth, Texas	10
Greenville, South Carolina	10
Spartanburg, South Carolina	10
Tampa, Florida	10
Tulsa, Oklahoma	10
Waco, Texas	10
Wichita, Kansas	10
Wilmington, North Carolina	10

Not many locations have weather stations that keep track of cloud cover or sunshine. Some sunny places, such as Palm Springs in California, are not included here because they don't officially keep sunshine records.