Lack of Sunshine Documented: Over the past week I have heard many people talking about the lack of sunshine. Indeed 22 days this month in the Twin Cities have brought mostly cloudy skies or completely cloudy conditions. And this followed nine consecutive days of cloudiness to conclude December in most places. The National Weather Service observations also show that fog or haze have plagued the Twin Cities on more than half of the days this month. Further according to measurements of solar radiation from the University of Minnesota St Paul Climate Observatory the solar radiation received so far this January is the lowest amount in the records for the month which started back in 1963, worse than the very dim Januarys of 1969, 1980, 1998, and 1999. There have been 9 consecutive cloudy days in the Twin Cities, Rochester, and other cities. The cloudiness has helped to keep the month of January warmer than normal. As is more commonly the case much warmer nights, and marginally warmer
