The Gloomiest Cities in the United States | Move.org (2024)

FAQs

What is the gloomiest city in the USA? ›

1. Anchorage, AK. With an average of over 230 cloudy days per year, Anchorage is the gloomiest city in the United States. This high number of cloudy days actually means that Anchorage spends about 65% of every year under clouds.

1. Anchorage, Alaska. The northernmost city in the U.S. with over 100,000 residents is also the cloudiest city in the U.S. Anchorage, AK, spends over 65% of the year under dense cloud-cover, mostly because of large-scale atmospheric rivers and proximity to the Pacific Ocean.

The west coast cities of Portland and Seattle top the list of cloudiest large cities in the United States. Overall, ten major American cities have solid overcast for more than 180 days a year. Besides the Pacific Northwest, cities with frequent cloudy weather are mainly near the Great Lakes.

No major US weather station outside of Alaska comes close to recording so many cloudy and partially cloudy days. US weather stations reporting over 310 days a year with at least one-quarter of the sky covered by cloud.

Montana: 'grayest' state in the West.

1. Washington. Washington State features a climate that is similar to Oregon's, but even more extreme. Between the effects of the Pacific Ocean, the Cascades and more, cities like Olympia receive 52 days of full sun per year.

The places in the U.S. which receive the least annual sun exposure are concentrated in Alaska, Washington (Oregon also, to a lesser extent), the northern Great Lakes area, and New England.

The absolute least sunny county in the lower U.S. is Island County, Wash. On an average day, it gets only about 60 percent of the solar radiation of a typical county in Southern California. The states bordering the Great Lakes — from Minnesota to New York — are all at the bottom of the sunlight distribution.

While temperatures fluctuate throughout the year in most U.S. states, there are few states with warm weather that see averages around 70-degree weather year-round. These states include Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and New Mexico.

What state has the nicest weather year round? ›

Based on these criteria, California has the best weather in all 50 states. Coastal cities in south and central California, such as San Diego, Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Santa Barbara, experience only 20 inches of rain per year and temperatures typically between the low 60s and 85 degrees.

Hilo, Hawaii

What is this? Hilo, Hawaii, takes the top spot for the rainiest city in the US, with an average of 276 days of rain per year.

1. Hawaii – 63.70 inches of rain per year. The wettest state in the U.S. is Hawaii.

Using a formula that takes into account annual precipitation, number of days with precipitation, and cloudiness, Brettschneider has determined that the "dreariest" place in the United States to live is ... Seattle.

Florida. The Sunshine State is known for warm weather, so it's not surprising that snowfall is extremely rare. Winters in Florida are usually among the mildest in the U.S. with temperatures averaging between the low 60s and the mid-70s.

Even though it is the largest state in the US, Alaska's population is sparse. With 24-hour daylight during the summer months and 24-hour darkness during the winter, many people find Alaska to be a strange and mysterious place. Here are some debunked myths about the unusual daylight patterns of Alaska.

If you like the holiday season but hate the cold weather during the winter months, I have a solution for you. You can visit some of the warmest US states in winter and enjoy your holidays modernly. Arizona, California, Georgia, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Hawaii—take your pick!

According to the National Center for Environmental Information, Pittsburgh averages 59 clear days per year and 306 cloudy days. However, the 306 cloudy days includes partly cloudy days, too, in which clouds cover 40 to 70 percent of the sky.

What city has the most sunshine in the United States? ›

Phoenix, Arizona

The sun shines 85 percent of the time in Phoenix, making it the sunniest city in the nation. But that sunshine means heat in the Valley of the Sun.

Florida is the hottest state in the US, with an average temperature of 73.4 °F. The state's climate is tropical and humid, with mild winters and hot summers.

Consistently cold throughout the year are Maine, Vermont, Montana and Wyoming. Other states make the list of ten coldest in every season but summer. Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota are states that get a break in summer from ranking in the ten coldest.

Arizona – 5,755 kJ/m²

With an annual sunlight average of 5,755 kJ/m², it tops the sunniest states in the US.

1 city with the best weather in the U.S.? Honolulu, Hawaii. Honolulu took the top spot with an average annual temperature of 77.7 degrees. While the city endures an average of 93 rainy days per year, it also averages 90 sunny days and zero days where the temperature dips below freezing.

1. California. You can't beat the south and central California coast for pleasant temperatures year round. Long Beach, Los Angeles, San Diego and Santa Maria all have average daily highs no less than the mid-60s for any month of the year.

Nevada has the lowest humidity. It's no coincidence the state is known for its desert and arid climate. With average relative humidity sitting at 38.3%, Nevada has the lowest relative humidity (when comparing states) in the country.

Snow falls in 49 of the 50 states in most winters; Florida being the lone exception. Northern portions of Florida, especially in the panhandle, experience some flurries during most, but not all winters.

What is the hottest city in the United States? ›

What Is The Hottest Place in the United States? Death Valley, California, recorded a temperature of 134 degrees Fahrenheit on July 10, 1913. More than a century later, that temperature remains the highest ever recorded in the United States.

Alaska is the coldest state in the United States, with an annual average temperature of 30.7 Fº, and temperatures that can go as low as -80°F. It has some of the longest and coldest winters in North America due to its extreme northern location and lack of low-lying land and mountains.

1. Yuma. Yuma is situated in the southwestern part of Arizona. In addition to being the sunniest and one of the warmest cities in the United States of America, Yuma is also the driest city in the country.

The wettest city in the world is Buenaventura, where it rains 258 days per year. Australia's rainiest city is Cairns in Queensland, with 117 days of precipitation. The UK's wettest city is Londonderry in Northern Ireland (147 days). The wettest city in the US is Hilo, Hawaii (211 days).

As they move north, the currents gather moisture, and when the resulting clouds hit the steep hills of Meghalaya, according to Chapple, they are squeezed through the narrowed gap in the atmosphere and compressed to the point that they can no longer hold their moisture, causing the near-constant rain.

During summer, the country's rainiest weather creeps northward into Iowa, West Virginia and New Jersey. While in fall and winter, the northern coastal states of Washington, Massachusetts and Rhode Island join the list of ten rainiest states.

Nevada takes the lead as the least rainy state in the US, with only 9.5 inches (241 mm) of rain each year.

A new book examining the forces shaping the future of global migration forecasts Michigan as the best place in the world to live in 2050. How can the world collaborate to minimize temperature rise to save as many lives as possible?

What state has the safest weather? ›

expected deaths = (deaths per tornado) (tornado count)+(deaths per flood) (flood count) + ... From the table, we can see the Hawaii is ranked #1 in safety, e.g. Hawaii has the lowest expected deaths per year caused by tornados, floods, wildfires, blizzards, and hurricanes.

Alaska is one of the coolest states in the USA in summer. However, Fairbanks offers very pleasant summer temperatures with average daily highs in the high 60s. The hottest month of the year is July, with an average high of 72°F.

St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, nicknamed Florida's Sunshine City.

Barrow, Alaska

Barrow's average high temperature during the first three months of the year hovers around -7 degrees Fahrenheit, with an average low of -20 degrees, according to the site U.S. Climate Data.

The least sunny cities in America

Hilo, Hawaii, receives about three to four times more rain every year than the national average—so you won't be seeing much sun on the rainy side of the Big Island.

The absolute least sunny county in the lower U.S. is Island County, Wash. On an average day, it gets only about 60 percent of the solar radiation of a typical county in Southern California. The states bordering the Great Lakes — from Minnesota to New York — are all at the bottom of the sunlight distribution.

Using a formula that takes into account annual precipitation, number of days with precipitation, and cloudiness, Brettschneider has determined that the "dreariest" place in the United States to live is ... Seattle.

1. Fairbanks, Alaska. With a minimum average temperature of about minus 17 degrees Fahrenheit, Fairbanks takes the cake as the coldest city in the U.S. The northernmost major city in Alaska, Fairbanks has seen record cold temperatures reaching minus 66 degrees in the past.

What state has the worst winter? ›

Alaska is the coldest state in the United States, with an annual average temperature of 30.7 Fº, and temperatures that can go as low as -80°F. It has some of the longest and coldest winters in North America due to its extreme northern location and lack of low-lying land and mountains.

Best weather: San Francisco, CA

First place goes to San Francisco, with only two days of extreme heat and a low temperature just below freezing at 27 degrees. Second place goes to San Diego, followed by Los Angeles. Both have an average yearly temperature of 60 degrees with sunny days 70% of the year.

1. California

Long Beach, Los Angeles, San Diego and Santa Maria all have average daily highs no less than the mid-60s for any month of the year. Nor does it get really hot. Temperatures in summer generally stay below 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Plus there's little rain, typically fewer than 15 inches a year.

With a highly active climate, Vermont only sees 58 days of full sunshine each year.

All measurements are in joules per square meter. Click here to see the states with the strongest sunlight. For sun worshippers, the place to be is probably what you'd expect — Arizona. It's followed by its Sunbelt neighbor, New Mexico, and then the Sunshine State itself, Florida.

Honolulu, Hawaii

Hawaii's largest city doesn't really have a winter—even in January, the average high is 80.1 degrees, and the sea temperature in the waters off of Honolulu's coast is a comfortable 77 degrees throughout the winter.

Oymyakon is the coldest permanently-inhabited place on Earth and is found in the Arctic Circle's Northern Pole of Cold. In 1933, it recorded its lowest temperature of -67.7°C.