Winter Weather Patterns

Winter is upon us. This doesnt mean we have to strike a baleful note of doom, though it should remind many of us that winter generally brings more cloudy skies to North America. In 2015, an Alaska-based climate blogger, Brian Brettschneider, examined cloud coverage data from selected weather stations in the National Climate Data Center's (NCDC) Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN). He created a series of maps showing the cloudiest parts of the U.S., the distribution of cloud cover by month and the cloudiest months for each first order reporting station.

Key Takeaways:

• Winter generally brings more cloudy skies to North America, characterized by stable, widespread, and long-lasting low-level overcast layers formed by atmospheric inversions, contrasting with summer's transient convective clouds.
• The amount of moisture air can hold varies with temperature, impacting seasonal precipitation; winter's reduced heat means different cloud formation and precipitation types (like snow, sleet, or freezing rain) determined by vertical temperature distribution.
• Pilots must be aware that winter weather patterns, especially persistent fog and inversions, differ significantly by region, and applying local weather knowledge to distant areas can lead to unexpected and potentially hazardous conditions.

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