World cloud cover map

[pgc hunter]

Found this map of average cloud cover across the world. The bluer areas mean more sunshine/less cloud cover. White means more clouds.

[taminga16]

My paddock is so wet that I cannot get the telescope across to my viewing area, it's wonderful.
Greg.

[pgc hunter]

Fixed.

[strongmanmike]

So it's Chile, Saudi Arabia, or Pakistan then...? hmmm? :question:

[Ric]

Europe looks a total wipeout

[strongmanmike]

Or there's a liiiiitle spot in Madagascar too....:thumbsup:

[marc4darkskies]

Looks like there is a dense white spot over Newcastle there Mike!:P:lol:

[multiweb]

Antartica's pretty good too. Could do with the extra cooling. No trees, the highest thing is a penguin ... cool . :)

[stanlite]

i think i might move here ... no significant rain for the years 1570 to 1971 ... mars like environ. looks good

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atacama_Desert#The_driest_desert

[gary]

Just can't get away from that cloud though. :) See picture from the same Wikipedia page -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Atacama1.jpg

[strongmanmike]

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr :mad2:

:help:

[Moon]

What are the cloud cover stats for Alice Springs?
What is the best place in Australia?

[pgc hunter]

According to BOM data I could find, the Karratha area is the best place in Australia, with over 3700 hours of sun annually, which is a daily average of over 10 hours. However, Sunshine data is very sparse in that region, so in all likelyhood there are probably places in the area with even higher sunshine levels.

By comparison, Failbourne gets around 2100 hours, Sydney 2600 hours and Perf 3100 hours. Not 100% sure about Alice Springs but it's around 3500-3600 IIRC.

[strongmanmike]

Karratha huh...? Hmmm I'm thinking that when it is cloudy there though it is likely to be a Cyclone :scared: :windy:...bye bye observatory :lol:

...maybe moving inland 50km or so would help?

[pgc hunter]

Yeah, sunniest place I can find in the BOM achives. The problem is, there are very few places which have average sunshine listed, but I'd imagine inland might be a bit sunnier. You'd want somewhere that escapes the summer monsoon but also cold fronts from the south. The Pilbara fits the bill nicely.

[stanlite]

i am dareing to hope ... the weather people say tonight shall be clear although there is could atm i dare to hope... want to try out my new Baddar coma corrector

[gary]

As a reliable dry and cloud free observing location, the Pilbara does not extend
far enough inland and is too far north to be a candidate. The rain at times
absolutely dumps down there and the tracks become impassable due to flooding.
Even the Great Sandy Desert, which is further inland still, can receive
quite a lot of rain during the Wet.

Even in very dry locations, like around Woomera and elsewhere deep in
the interior of SA, you can never completely escape the occassional
downpour and when it rains, the mud becomes so thick that one's boots start to
weigh one down like lead diving boots.

I was in Birdsville in SW Qld one day when we recorded the temperature at
50C and they put on soup with ice cubes in it in the pub for dinner. But even that
night it absolutely bucketed down, testimony to the land of extremes we live in.

[AndrewJ]

Correct:D

I spent 2 years up there and the weather ( and fishing ) was magnificent,
however, there is massive "localised" light pollution now from the LNG plants.
http://www.lightpollution.it/worldatlas/pages/fig9.htm

Drive 100k inland and gets black as can be.

Funnily enough though, one day at work, one of my crew ran into the office screaming that there was a UFO outside. ( Midday :question: )
We all went outside and it was just a cloud, ( but the first we had seen in about a week ). Kept us amused for a few mins

Andrew

[pgc hunter]

This argument could be made for anywhere in the country though. In the NW deserts, it's the exception rather than the rule. Overall, the Pilbara is still the sunniest place in the nation and most rainfall falls from shortlived storm cells, rather than cloud laden frontal systems and monsoon troughs. Ofcourse, the Pilbara will have their days of overcast when the monsoon trough links with a southern frontal system or the occasional cyclone, but the difference is the associated cloudiness in a given spot, rarely lasts more than a small handful of days at a time, unlike in the tropics or down here.

[stanlite]

i think i am going to cry the clouds have broken the scope is out and i am manically looking at the western horizon (location of appearing clouds as i call it)

[SkyViking]

Thanks for finding this. I went looking for a larger version and found the original here: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=41292&src=eoa-iotd
It seems this is only the average for October 2009, so the long term picture would certainly be a bit different, except for places like Atacama etc.

[SkyViking]

Found a movie of the average cloud cover 2005-2010: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/GlobalMaps/view.php?d1=MODAL2_M_CLD_FR#

It is very interesting to watch. Notice how every southern winter there is a large area of less cloud expanding radially from Antarctica - I wonder what that is?

[pgc hunter]

Great find Rolf, thanks.

I notice on July 2010, there is a solid white patch right over Melbourne :mad2:

[shelltree]

Apparently there is a place somewhere in Africa with the least amount of light pollution in the world. I'm goin there! :D

[stanlite]

Take me with you!!!

[mswhin63]

After seeing the latest image of Jupiter from Bird, Exmouth is the place.:)

[pgc hunter]

Exmouth is notorious for its good seeing, 240 clear days per year and dry, warm climate. Obviously the location of my afterlife.

[Moon]

Do you like my new avatar? I used my photoshop skillz to make it from an actual screen print of todays forecast for 'Failbourne'. Evidence attached.
On the way to work today, the forecast on the radio was 'Occasional showers with rain later'. And of course it was raining at the time.
Not. Happy. Jan.
81511

[pgc hunter]

Your avatar makes me physically ill :mad2::P;)