Ames
Clear Sky Chart
History

This sumarizes the distribution of each different forecast outcome for the Ames clear sky chart from 2005-11-06 to 2024-04-03.

This page is a summary of past forecasts. Even though it's based only on forecasts, some people use these pages as clue to a site's climate. But climate data based on actual observation should be preferred (if you can find it!).

Cloud, Transparency and Seeing forecasts are summarized individually. But because good observing conditions require a combination of minimum cloud cover, transparency and seeing, the individual forecast summaries can be difficult to interpret. The observing conditions section counts the combinations of conditions needed for common types of astronomical observation.

Observing Conditions

The following tables count the occurrence of the combinations of forecast and darkness conditions needed for different observations. Conditions are rated by by what percentage of the hours the observation would likely be attempted are usable.

Observation Type	Minimum conditions for hour to be usable				Out of hours
	Clear of Clouds	Transparency	Seeing	Sky Brightness
Planetary:	50%	(no limit)	Average	(no limit)	Nighttime Hours
Deep Sky:	70%	Average	(no limit)	5.9	Nighttime Hours
CCD Imaging:	70%	Below Average	Poor	(no limit)	Nighttime Hours

Percentages are of nighttime hours per month, or per year, when a particular observing conditions was met. Deep Sky percentages never exceed 50% because the moon is up half the time. Deep sky percentages are much lower for charts at high latitudes because of fewer dark hours in the summer.

Overall

By Month

Individual Forecasts

The length of each colored bar in the "occurrence of each Forecast" column is proportional to the number of times the chart forecast that color. The percentages are of the total number of hours per month, or per year, with a particular forecast. The colors as the same as those used in clear sky charts.

Note: Transparency probabilities are only counted for those hours that have 30% or less cloud cover. Seeing probabilities are only counted for those hours that have 80% or less cloud cover. If that's too tricky, try Observing Conditions instead.

Overall

		Occurrence of each Forecast	Data Points
Cloud Cover	Day	13% 8% 4 7% 6% 3 5% 5% 5% 7% 38%	78882
	Night	12% 8% 4 7% 5% 3 4 4 5% 7% 41%	81304
Transparency	Day	45% 6% 13% 22% 12% 1	78594
	Night	43% 6% 13% 23% 14% 2	81112
Seeing	Day	16% 9% 29% 28% 15% 3	14928
	Night	15% 9% 33% 31% 11% 1	25016

By Month

Percentage Cloud Cover SE (2006-)
Color Meanings: Overcast 90% covered 80% covered 70% covered 60% covered 50% covered 40% covered 30% covered 20% covered 10% covered Clear
Month	Days in Month		Occurrence of each Forecast	Data Points
January	1st to 10th	Day	8% 11% 6% 18% 12% 5% 6% 5% 4 5% 20%	2527
	11th to 20th	Day	8% 13% 6% 10% 9% 5% 8% 5% 7% 6% 23%	2822
	21st to end	Day	13% 15% 9% 15% 8% 3 4 4 5% 6% 18%	3135
February	1st to 10th	Day	10% 13% 5% 10% 7% 4 5% 5% 6% 7% 28%	1710
	11th to 20th	Day	11% 9% 5% 6% 6% 4 5% 6% 5% 6% 36%	1664
	21st to end	Day	13% 10% 3 10% 6% 3 5% 4 5% 6% 35%	1508
March	1st to 10th	Day	15% 10% 4 7% 6% 3 5% 5% 4 7% 35%	2090
	11th to 20th	Day	13% 10% 4 10% 5% 3 4 4 5% 8% 34%	2090
	21st to end	Day	20% 13% 5% 7% 5% 3 4 5% 5% 5% 28%	2299
April	1st to 10th	Day	19% 9% 4 6% 5% 3 5% 4 5% 6% 34%	2173
	11th to 20th	Day	18% 9% 3 6% 7% 4 3 4 5% 6% 35%	2134
	21st to end	Day	21% 8% 4 5% 4 3 5% 4 5% 7% 35%	2296
May	1st to 10th	Day	18% 8% 3 5% 5% 3 6% 5% 6% 8% 32%	2340
	11th to 20th	Day	17% 8% 3 5% 5% 3 4 5% 6% 8% 35%	2445
	21st to end	Day	16% 6% 4 7% 5% 4 6% 5% 5% 8% 36%	2725
June	1st to 10th	Day	10% 5% 2 6% 5% 3 6% 4 6% 8% 45%	2520
	11th to 20th	Day	9% 5% 2 5% 6% 3 4 5% 6% 10% 45%	2520
	21st to end	Day	9% 6% 3 6% 6% 4 5% 6% 7% 8% 40%	2520
July	1st to 10th	Day	7% 5% 2 4 4 2 4 5% 7% 11% 49%	2520
	11th to 20th	Day	6% 4 1 4 4 3 5% 6% 7% 9% 50%	2511
	21st to end	Day	6% 4 2 4 4 4 5% 7% 7% 10% 47%	2546
August	1st to 10th	Day	8% 5% 3 6% 6% 3 5% 6% 7% 9% 42%	2328
	11th to 20th	Day	10% 5% 2 4 5% 3 5% 5% 7% 9% 45%	2301
	21st to end	Day	9% 5% 2 5% 5% 3 4 5% 5% 7% 50%	2430
September	1st to 10th	Day	12% 5% 2 4 4 3 4 4 4 7% 52%	2160
	11th to 20th	Day	10% 4 1 5% 4 3 4 5% 7% 7% 49%	2100
	21st to end	Day	12% 4 2 5% 5% 2 4 5% 5% 7% 49%	1913
October	1st to 10th	Day	15% 6% 3 5% 4 3 4 3 5% 6% 45%	1800
	11th to 20th	Day	16% 7% 3 5% 5% 3 4 4 4 5% 43%	1800
	21st to end	Day	15% 9% 3 6% 5% 3 3 4 5% 6% 41%	1980
November	1st to 10th	Day	10% 7% 3 5% 6% 3 5% 4 5% 7% 46%	1714
	11th to 20th	Day	13% 8% 4 5% 6% 2 5% 5% 5% 8% 39%	1520
	21st to end	Day	15% 9% 4 5% 4 4 4 4 4 7% 39%	1520
December	1st to 10th	Day	11% 11% 4 9% 6% 4 5% 5% 5% 8% 34%	1520
	11th to 20th	Day	12% 8% 5% 9% 7% 4 5% 5% 5% 7% 34%	1918
	21st to end	Day	21% 15% 8% 13% 6% 2 4 3 4 5% 18%	2783
January	1st to 10th	Night	10% 11% 6% 19% 10% 3 4 3 4 5% 25%	4428
	11th to 20th	Night	10% 13% 6% 9% 7% 4 7% 6% 8% 7% 24%	4144
	21st to end	Night	14% 15% 7% 13% 6% 3 5% 4 4 7% 22%	4532
February	1st to 10th	Night	10% 12% 5% 10% 7% 3 5% 5% 4 7% 32%	2470
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 8% 4 6% 5% 4 5% 4 6% 6% 40%	2403
	21st to end	Night	11% 8% 5% 8% 6% 3 4 3 4 6% 42%	1959
March	1st to 10th	Night	13% 9% 3 6% 4 2 4 4 5% 7% 43%	2093
	11th to 20th	Night	14% 7% 3 6% 6% 3 4 3 6% 7% 40%	2090
	21st to end	Night	20% 11% 5% 9% 6% 4 4 4 5% 6% 27%	2299
April	1st to 10th	Night	15% 8% 3 6% 6% 3 4 5% 4 7% 41%	1830
	11th to 20th	Night	15% 8% 3 6% 5% 3 5% 4 4 6% 40%	1775
	21st to end	Night	17% 7% 2 6% 5% 3 4 4 5% 6% 42%	1661
May	1st to 10th	Night	17% 6% 2 5% 5% 3 4 5% 7% 8% 39%	1620
	11th to 20th	Night	15% 5% 2 5% 5% 3 5% 4 5% 9% 41%	1448
	21st to end	Night	12% 6% 3 5% 5% 3 4 5% 6% 7% 43%	1551
June	1st to 10th	Night	6% 4 2 4 5% 4 5% 6% 5% 8% 51%	1440
	11th to 20th	Night	7% 5% 2 5% 5% 2 5% 3 6% 10% 50%	1440
	21st to end	Night	8% 4 2 4 4 3 5% 6% 6% 8% 51%	1440
July	1st to 10th	Night	5% 3 2 3 4 2 4 6% 6% 10% 57%	1440
	11th to 20th	Night	4 3 1 3 3 3 4 4 6% 9% 60%	1446
	21st to end	Night	5% 2 2 3 4 3 5% 5% 7% 9% 56%	1772
August	1st to 10th	Night	6% 5% 3 5% 5% 3 4 5% 6% 9% 51%	1611
	11th to 20th	Night	7% 4 2 4 4 2 4 4 4 8% 58%	1600
	21st to end	Night	8% 4 2 4 4 3 4 4 5% 7% 57%	1926
September	1st to 10th	Night	9% 6% 2 5% 4 3 3 3 4 6% 56%	1800
	11th to 20th	Night	10% 4 2 4 4 2 4 3 4 6% 56%	1858
	21st to end	Night	9% 4 1 3 4 2 4 3 5% 6% 59%	2029
October	1st to 10th	Night	12% 7% 2 4 4 2 3 4 4 6% 52%	2160
	11th to 20th	Night	15% 6% 3 5% 4 2 4 4 4 6% 47%	2160
	21st to end	Night	16% 9% 3 4 4 3 3 4 4 6% 45%	2376
November	1st to 10th	Night	10% 6% 2 4 3 2 4 4 5% 7% 53%	2360
	11th to 20th	Night	12% 8% 3 6% 5% 3 4 5% 5% 6% 43%	2660
	21st to end	Night	14% 8% 3 6% 5% 2 4 5% 5% 5% 44%	2660
December	1st to 10th	Night	10% 11% 4 8% 6% 4 5% 5% 6% 7% 35%	2660
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 10% 4 8% 7% 3 4 5% 5% 7% 37%	3279
	21st to end	Night	19% 15% 7% 12% 6% 3 4 3 4 4 23%	4884

Transparency (when cloud cover <= 30%)
Color Meanings: Too cloudy to forecast Poor Below Average Average Above average Transparent
Month	Days in Month		Occurrence of each Forecast	Data Points
January	1st to 10th	Day	63% 8% 11% 12% 6%	2528
	11th to 20th	Day	59% 5% 10% 20% 5%	2822
	21st to end	Day	67% 6% 11% 12% 4	3135
February	1st to 10th	Day	54% 5% 14% 18% 8% 1	1710
	11th to 20th	Day	47% 6% 11% 22% 11% 2	1673
	21st to end	Day	50% 5% 14% 17% 11% 3	1508
March	1st to 10th	Day	49% 5% 15% 21% 9% 1	2090
	11th to 20th	Day	49% 6% 12% 22% 10% 1	2090
	21st to end	Day	57% 6% 13% 16% 6% 2	2299
April	1st to 10th	Day	50% 6% 12% 22% 10% 1	2173
	11th to 20th	Day	49% 6% 11% 21% 12% 1	2134
	21st to end	Day	48% 6% 11% 23% 11% 1	2296
May	1st to 10th	Day	50% 7% 13% 19% 10% 1	2340
	11th to 20th	Day	46% 7% 13% 22% 11% 1	2449
	21st to end	Day	46% 7% 14% 18% 13% 2	2725
June	1st to 10th	Day	36% 8% 16% 23% 16% 1	2520
	11th to 20th	Day	33% 7% 15% 23% 20% 2	2520
	21st to end	Day	38% 8% 15% 24% 14% 2	2520
July	1st to 10th	Day	29% 8% 16% 31% 13% 3	2451
	11th to 20th	Day	28% 8% 16% 27% 17% 3	2436
	21st to end	Day	29% 8% 17% 28% 16% 2	2405
August	1st to 10th	Day	36% 9% 17% 25% 12% 2	2314
	11th to 20th	Day	34% 7% 15% 27% 15% 1	2301
	21st to end	Day	32% 6% 12% 26% 20% 3	2430
September	1st to 10th	Day	32% 6% 12% 26% 19% 4	2160
	11th to 20th	Day	31% 7% 14% 30% 17% 1	2100
	21st to end	Day	34% 6% 11% 31% 18% 1	1913
October	1st to 10th	Day	39% 5% 11% 26% 17% 1	1800
	11th to 20th	Day	42% 4 8% 24% 19% 2	1800
	21st to end	Day	44% 5% 12% 23% 15% 1	1980
November	1st to 10th	Day	36% 6% 16% 22% 18% 2	1714
	11th to 20th	Day	42% 5% 15% 21% 15% 1	1520
	21st to end	Day	46% 4 15% 24% 10% 1	1520
December	1st to 10th	Day	48% 5% 17% 19% 9% 2	1520
	11th to 20th	Day	49% 5% 19% 20% 6% 1	1915
	21st to end	Day	68% 5% 9% 13% 4 1	2783
January	1st to 10th	Night	62% 5% 11% 13% 9%	4428
	11th to 20th	Night	55% 5% 13% 15% 10% 1	4144
	21st to end	Night	61% 6% 12% 14% 6% 1	4532
February	1st to 10th	Night	52% 4 12% 21% 10% 1	2470
	11th to 20th	Night	43% 6% 12% 25% 13% 2	2404
	21st to end	Night	45% 4 11% 21% 15% 3	1959
March	1st to 10th	Night	40% 6% 13% 28% 12% 1	2093
	11th to 20th	Night	43% 6% 12% 23% 14% 2	2090
	21st to end	Night	58% 5% 14% 15% 7% 1	2299
April	1st to 10th	Night	43% 6% 12% 24% 14% 2	1830
	11th to 20th	Night	45% 5% 10% 21% 16% 2	1775
	21st to end	Night	43% 5% 13% 23% 14% 2	1661
May	1st to 10th	Night	40% 9% 16% 21% 13% 1	1620
	11th to 20th	Night	39% 8% 13% 26% 13% 1	1449
	21st to end	Night	40% 7% 14% 22% 13% 4	1552
June	1st to 10th	Night	29% 8% 17% 28% 16% 3	1440
	11th to 20th	Night	30% 7% 14% 22% 23% 5%	1440
	21st to end	Night	29% 7% 15% 28% 17% 3	1440
July	1st to 10th	Night	21% 8% 16% 34% 18% 3	1400
	11th to 20th	Night	20% 6% 18% 36% 16% 4	1398
	21st to end	Night	21% 7% 18% 31% 20% 3	1673
August	1st to 10th	Night	31% 7% 16% 28% 15% 3	1601
	11th to 20th	Night	27% 6% 14% 33% 19% 3	1600
	21st to end	Night	26% 7% 12% 27% 22% 6%	1926
September	1st to 10th	Night	30% 5% 11% 26% 24% 5%	1800
	11th to 20th	Night	29% 4 11% 34% 20% 1	1858
	21st to end	Night	27% 5% 10% 32% 24% 3	2029
October	1st to 10th	Night	34% 5% 10% 28% 20% 3	2160
	11th to 20th	Night	38% 5% 11% 23% 19% 4	2160
	21st to end	Night	41% 5% 12% 21% 19% 2	2376
November	1st to 10th	Night	31% 4 16% 26% 19% 4	2360
	11th to 20th	Night	40% 5% 15% 25% 13% 2	2660
	21st to end	Night	43% 4 12% 27% 13% 1	2660
December	1st to 10th	Night	47% 6% 14% 23% 9% 1	2660
	11th to 20th	Night	45% 6% 14% 27% 7%	3281
	21st to end	Night	65% 6% 9% 14% 6%	4884

Seeing (when cloud cover <= 80%)
Color Meanings: Too cloudy to forecast Bad 1/5 Poor 2/5 Average 3/5 Good 4/5 Excellent 5/5
Month	Days in Month		Occurrence of each Forecast	Data Points
January	1st to 10th	Day	19% 11% 36% 25% 8% 2	270
	11th to 20th	Day	19% 11% 44% 22% 4	270
	21st to end	Day	18% 11% 36% 29% 5% 1	297
February	1st to 10th	Day	17% 19% 39% 20% 4 1	270
	11th to 20th	Day	16% 16% 36% 26% 6%	270
	21st to end	Day	20% 14% 46% 17% 4	225
March	1st to 10th	Day	17% 16% 41% 18% 7% 1	270
	11th to 20th	Day	23% 13% 36% 21% 7%	270
	21st to end	Day	35% 14% 29% 17% 5%	297
April	1st to 10th	Day	26% 15% 34% 20% 5%	417
	11th to 20th	Day	24% 13% 33% 20% 9% 1	412
	21st to end	Day	24% 14% 30% 21% 8% 2	556
May	1st to 10th	Day	23% 12% 33% 21% 10% 1	603
	11th to 20th	Day	22% 13% 28% 22% 12% 2	625
	21st to end	Day	18% 7% 26% 30% 16% 4	679
June	1st to 10th	Day	8% 7% 25% 31% 25% 4	630
	11th to 20th	Day	11% 4 28% 37% 16% 3	630
	21st to end	Day	10% 8% 31% 32% 16% 3	630
July	1st to 10th	Day	9% 3 15% 35% 27% 11%	621
	11th to 20th	Day	7% 2 27% 34% 23% 7%	618
	21st to end	Day	6% 2 23% 39% 26% 5%	684
August	1st to 10th	Day	9% 3 18% 37% 27% 6%	626
	11th to 20th	Day	13% 3 16% 37% 25% 6%	615
	21st to end	Day	11% 3 21% 34% 24% 7%	549
September	1st to 10th	Day	14% 6% 24% 32% 20% 6%	450
	11th to 20th	Day	9% 4 24% 37% 20% 6%	390
	21st to end	Day	11% 11% 28% 31% 15% 4	270
October	1st to 10th	Day	17% 7% 30% 26% 16% 4	270
	11th to 20th	Day	18% 20% 34% 20% 7% 1	270
	21st to end	Day	21% 14% 35% 21% 6% 3	297
November	1st to 10th	Day	16% 11% 39% 24% 9% 2	270
	11th to 20th	Day	17% 21% 33% 20% 9% 1	270
	21st to end	Day	22% 12% 38% 23% 4 1	270
December	1st to 10th	Day	11% 14% 44% 21% 9% 1	270
	11th to 20th	Day	14% 15% 34% 26% 10% 1	270
	21st to end	Day	24% 18% 40% 16% 2	297
January	1st to 10th	Night	14% 12% 37% 29% 7%	950
	11th to 20th	Night	17% 12% 36% 28% 6% 1	950
	21st to end	Night	17% 13% 35% 29% 6%	1045
February	1st to 10th	Night	18% 10% 38% 29% 5%	950
	11th to 20th	Night	16% 12% 39% 27% 5%	929
	21st to end	Night	17% 13% 41% 23% 5% 1	703
March	1st to 10th	Night	18% 11% 38% 24% 7% 1	573
	11th to 20th	Night	18% 9% 38% 27% 8%	570
	21st to end	Night	24% 11% 38% 19% 7% 1	627
April	1st to 10th	Night	19% 14% 40% 24% 4	546
	11th to 20th	Night	19% 11% 35% 28% 6% 1	533
	21st to end	Night	19% 10% 36% 26% 8% 1	540
May	1st to 10th	Night	19% 8% 34% 30% 8% 1	540
	11th to 20th	Night	17% 8% 34% 30% 10% 1	531
	21st to end	Night	16% 7% 26% 36% 14%	584
June	1st to 10th	Night	7% 4 28% 41% 19%	540
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 4 28% 45% 12% 1	540
	21st to end	Night	9% 5% 31% 39% 17%	540
July	1st to 10th	Night	7% 1 13% 46% 31% 2	525
	11th to 20th	Night	5% 1 23% 44% 25% 2	522
	21st to end	Night	6% 2 17% 51% 24% 1	591
August	1st to 10th	Night	8% 3 15% 47% 26% 2	537
	11th to 20th	Night	8% 1 16% 46% 26% 3	534
	21st to end	Night	9% 2 23% 40% 24% 2	594
September	1st to 10th	Night	14% 4 21% 38% 21% 3	540
	11th to 20th	Night	12% 3 24% 38% 21% 2	540
	21st to end	Night	12% 5% 32% 36% 14% 1	589
October	1st to 10th	Night	15% 7% 33% 31% 13% 1	720
	11th to 20th	Night	18% 12% 33% 30% 7%	720
	21st to end	Night	22% 9% 34% 28% 7%	792
November	1st to 10th	Night	14% 9% 38% 30% 8%	776
	11th to 20th	Night	16% 15% 40% 22% 6%	950
	21st to end	Night	17% 13% 36% 27% 8%	950
December	1st to 10th	Night	15% 12% 37% 28% 7%	950
	11th to 20th	Night	19% 8% 35% 31% 6%	950
	21st to end	Night	23% 12% 37% 22% 5%	1045

Page generated at 2024-03-31 05:08:54. Version ac07

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