
"Reflectivity" is the amount of transmitted power returned to the radar receiver. And in winter, you are lucky if you catch a single ray of sunlight at all.The colors are the different echo intensities (reflectivity) measured in dBZ (decibels of Z) during each elevation scan. At peak times, you get to see the sun there for 6 hours. Residents of Seattle can only dream of that many hours of sunshine: the often cloudy sky in this area only allows for an annual average of 3.5 hours of sunshine. There, you can expect an average of more than 6 hours of sunshine per day! However, sun lovers beware – if you are seeking a lot of sunshine, then you should visit Las Vegas.

The condensation of the water vapor then leads to the gradual formation of more small water droplets, allowing the cloud to form.Ĥ.5 hours… – This is how long the sun shines on average per day in the USA


This is due to the temperature of the surrounding air, which continues to decrease as altitude increases. Once it gets there, the water vapor begins to condense. Once evaporated, the water then quickly makes its way upwards along with warm air. This vapor is created by solar radiation, which causes the water in lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water around us to evaporate. They range from the harmless veil cloud that floats across the deep blue summer sky to the large thundercloud that rapidly causes a cooling effect.Īll clouds have one thing in common: they consist of water, or more precisely, water vapor. We see them floating across the sky over our heads every day – and yet many people know very little about them: Clouds. By the way, our storm radar or lightning strike map is also suitable for this purpose. So the next time you are on your way to vacation, you can use our cloud radar to check in advance whether high clouds will cross your path on the travel route. In practice, airplanes often change their original course to avoid thunderclouds and resulting turbulence. Small clouds move at a height of about 3 km, while thunderclouds in areas with high solar radiation can reach a height of up to 14 km.įor comparison: when you go on vacation by airplane, you find yourself at an altitude of about 10 to 11 km. The height of clouds always depends on the strength of solar radiation and the amount of water vapor. You can then choose whether you want the cloud radar to display low, medium, or high clouds. To do this, simply click on the “Clouds” button at the top right of the map. You can find our rain radar with rain forecast here.īeyond general cloud cover, you can also filter by cloud type or height. While blue indicates weak precipitation, red/purple-colored areas are expected to have severe rain and hail. You can also recognize precipitation by a colored shading on the cloud cover map. In addition to information about cloud cover, our radar also tells you where cloud cover occurs in combination with precipitation. What else you need to know about our cloud cover map: Move the cloud marker with the mouse (smartphone: simply tap on the white dot of the marker using your finger) to your target region and find out how likely the sky will be cloudy there.

This will tell you how the cloud cover will change over the next 36 hours. With the cursor at the bottom left of the cloud cover map, you can visualize the future course of the clouds. To do this, simply click on the corresponding button. You can distinguish between high, medium, and low clouds. Using the button at the top right of the cloud cover map, you can select the type of cloud cover. Conversely, a gray area indicates relatively light cloud cover with occasional sunshine. The chances of catching a glimpse of the sun in this area are therefore very poor. The whiter and clearer the coloration is, the denser the cloud cover is here. On our cloud cover map, cloud areas are displayed visibly for you by a gray-white coloring. Where is it cloudy? Where is the sun shining? This is how you read the cloud cover map: Gray color indicates light cloud cover, while a white color means heavy cloud cover. In yellow-colored areas, the sun is shining.
