Hale Observatory
Clear Sky Chart
History

This sumarizes the distribution of each different forecast outcome for the Hale Observatory clear sky chart from 2005-11-06 to 2026-02-01.

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	6% 5% 2 7% 6% 6% 6% 5% 7% 10% 39%	127201
	Night	8% 6% 2 7% 5% 5% 5% 4 7% 9% 42%	124838
Transparency	Day	37% 9% 16% 20% 13% 5%	130909
	Night	36% 8% 17% 21% 14% 5%	129186
Seeing	Day	8% 4 17% 25% 25% 22%	17320
	Night	9% 3 18% 34% 27% 9%	27437

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	6% 5% 2 6% 4 4 4 3 5% 7% 52%	4146
	11th to 20th	Day	16% 9% 3 8% 5% 6% 5% 3 6% 8% 31%	4150
	21st to end	Day	13% 6% 2 5% 4 3 4 4 7% 8% 44%	4777
February	1st to 10th	Day	10% 6% 2 7% 4 4 4 4 6% 8% 46%	2000
	11th to 20th	Day	5% 4 2 5% 4 4 5% 5% 6% 7% 53%	1948
	21st to end	Day	7% 5% 2 6% 4 5% 5% 3 5% 7% 49%	1789
March	1st to 10th	Day	7% 5% 2 7% 6% 5% 5% 5% 5% 7% 46%	4935
	11th to 20th	Day	3 3 1 4 4 4 4 3 5% 8% 62%	4980
	21st to end	Day	7% 4 2 6% 4 5% 5% 4 6% 8% 48%	5465
April	1st to 10th	Day	5% 4 1 4 5% 5% 5% 5% 7% 9% 50%	2200
	11th to 20th	Day	6% 5% 2 7% 5% 6% 5% 5% 7% 8% 44%	2206
	21st to end	Day	4 4 1 5% 4 5% 5% 5% 7% 10% 50%	2400
May	1st to 10th	Day	2 2 1 5% 4 5% 6% 6% 7% 11% 51%	5606
	11th to 20th	Day	7% 5% 2 7% 4 5% 5% 4 7% 9% 46%	5861
	21st to end	Day	4 3 2 6% 5% 5% 6% 5% 8% 12% 44%	6433
June	1st to 10th	Day	11% 9% 4 10% 7% 8% 7% 6% 8% 9% 21%	2600
	11th to 20th	Day	7% 7% 3 10% 8% 8% 7% 6% 8% 11% 25%	2600
	21st to end	Day	7% 8% 3 11% 9% 8% 8% 6% 7% 9% 25%	2600
July	1st to 10th	Day	5% 6% 3 11% 8% 7% 9% 7% 10% 13% 21%	5900
	11th to 20th	Day	4 5% 2 9% 7% 8% 8% 7% 9% 14% 27%	5900
	21st to end	Day	4 5% 2 8% 7% 7% 8% 6% 9% 14% 30%	6424
August	1st to 10th	Day	4 6% 3 11% 8% 8% 8% 7% 10% 12% 23%	4234
	11th to 20th	Day	3 4 2 8% 8% 8% 8% 6% 10% 13% 31%	3866
	21st to end	Day	6% 6% 3 10% 8% 8% 8% 6% 10% 13% 22%	3949
September	1st to 10th	Day	7% 8% 3 9% 7% 8% 7% 6% 10% 12% 22%	2200
	11th to 20th	Day	8% 8% 3 11% 8% 8% 8% 6% 8% 10% 23%	2200
	21st to end	Day	8% 7% 3 10% 7% 7% 7% 6% 8% 10% 27%	2200
October	1st to 10th	Day	10% 6% 3 9% 6% 7% 5% 6% 7% 8% 33%	2177
	11th to 20th	Day	5% 5% 3 6% 6% 6% 6% 5% 6% 9% 44%	2000
	21st to end	Day	7% 5% 2 7% 5% 5% 4 4 6% 9% 47%	2200
November	1st to 10th	Day	6% 5% 2 6% 4 5% 5% 3 6% 10% 47%	2057
	11th to 20th	Day	8% 5% 2 7% 4 5% 5% 4 6% 8% 45%	2100
	21st to end	Day	8% 6% 2 7% 4 5% 5% 4 6% 9% 45%	2050
December	1st to 10th	Day	4 3 2 5% 4 4 4 4 5% 7% 58%	3020
	11th to 20th	Day	9% 7% 3 7% 5% 4 5% 4 7% 9% 39%	3463
	21st to end	Day	9% 7% 3 8% 6% 6% 6% 5% 6% 8% 36%	4565
January	1st to 10th	Night	8% 5% 2 6% 3 4 4 4 6% 9% 49%	6019
	11th to 20th	Night	16% 13% 3 9% 5% 4 4 3 6% 7% 31%	6030
	21st to end	Night	14% 6% 2 6% 4 4 4 4 5% 7% 43%	6416
February	1st to 10th	Night	9% 7% 3 6% 4 4 4 4 6% 7% 45%	2401
	11th to 20th	Night	9% 5% 2 5% 3 4 4 3 6% 7% 51%	2338
	21st to end	Night	6% 5% 2 5% 4 4 4 3 6% 9% 54%	1839
March	1st to 10th	Night	9% 7% 2 6% 4 4 4 3 6% 8% 47%	4918
	11th to 20th	Night	4 3 1 4 3 3 3 3 6% 9% 58%	4980
	21st to end	Night	8% 6% 2 6% 3 3 4 4 5% 6% 51%	5467
April	1st to 10th	Night	5% 4 2 4 5% 4 4 4 6% 10% 54%	2200
	11th to 20th	Night	5% 3 2 5% 4 4 4 4 7% 10% 52%	2143
	21st to end	Night	5% 3 1 4 4 4 4 3 6% 7% 59%	2000
May	1st to 10th	Night	3 4 2 7% 5% 5% 5% 4 7% 9% 48%	4316
	11th to 20th	Night	7% 5% 2 5% 3 4 5% 4 6% 9% 49%	4032
	21st to end	Night	4 4 2 7% 4 4 6% 4 6% 10% 48%	4421
June	1st to 10th	Night	9% 7% 3 9% 5% 6% 6% 5% 8% 10% 32%	1800
	11th to 20th	Night	7% 7% 2 9% 7% 6% 6% 7% 8% 12% 28%	1800
	21st to end	Night	6% 6% 3 8% 8% 6% 6% 6% 8% 11% 32%	1800
July	1st to 10th	Night	6% 8% 4 11% 8% 6% 7% 6% 10% 11% 22%	4058
	11th to 20th	Night	4 5% 3 10% 7% 7% 8% 7% 10% 13% 27%	4057
	21st to end	Night	4 7% 4 12% 7% 7% 6% 6% 8% 11% 28%	4427
August	1st to 10th	Night	5% 6% 3 8% 6% 7% 6% 5% 8% 11% 34%	2915
	11th to 20th	Night	5% 5% 3 8% 6% 5% 6% 6% 8% 13% 35%	3141
	21st to end	Night	6% 6% 3 8% 6% 6% 7% 6% 11% 14% 27%	3949
September	1st to 10th	Night	8% 7% 4 9% 7% 6% 7% 7% 9% 11% 26%	2200
	11th to 20th	Night	9% 8% 3 10% 8% 7% 6% 4 8% 9% 27%	2200
	21st to end	Night	11% 8% 3 8% 6% 6% 6% 4 8% 8% 33%	2200
October	1st to 10th	Night	12% 7% 3 7% 5% 5% 5% 4 7% 8% 38%	2220
	11th to 20th	Night	7% 7% 2 6% 5% 4 4 4 6% 7% 48%	2400
	21st to end	Night	9% 5% 2 5% 4 4 3 3 6% 9% 50%	2640
November	1st to 10th	Night	8% 5% 2 5% 4 4 4 4 5% 8% 49%	2461
	11th to 20th	Night	7% 6% 2 5% 5% 4 5% 4 5% 8% 50%	2520
	21st to end	Night	8% 6% 2 6% 4 5% 4 4 6% 9% 47%	2565
December	1st to 10th	Night	4 4 1 4 3 3 4 3 5% 8% 60%	4380
	11th to 20th	Night	10% 7% 2 6% 4 3 4 3 6% 8% 46%	4952
	21st to end	Night	10% 8% 3 9% 5% 5% 5% 4 6% 8% 37%	6633

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	30% 4 7% 21% 28% 9%	4147
	11th to 20th	Day	50% 4 8% 18% 15% 5%	4150
	21st to end	Day	38% 4 7% 28% 17% 6%	4777
February	1st to 10th	Day	36% 5% 9% 20% 21% 9%	2000
	11th to 20th	Day	28% 5% 9% 24% 22% 11%	1958
	21st to end	Day	33% 5% 10% 18% 24% 10%	1789
March	1st to 10th	Day	37% 5% 11% 19% 21% 8%	4935
	11th to 20th	Day	21% 4 10% 24% 23% 18%	4980
	21st to end	Day	32% 5% 8% 27% 19% 8%	5465
April	1st to 10th	Day	28% 6% 15% 26% 18% 7%	2200
	11th to 20th	Day	36% 6% 11% 18% 20% 8%	2206
	21st to end	Day	29% 6% 10% 23% 24% 7%	2400
May	1st to 10th	Day	22% 7% 19% 31% 17% 4	5638
	11th to 20th	Day	32% 6% 16% 30% 15% 1	5865
	21st to end	Day	28% 9% 18% 30% 13% 1	6447
June	1st to 10th	Day	56% 8% 17% 14% 4	2600
	11th to 20th	Day	48% 11% 21% 17% 3	2600
	21st to end	Day	53% 11% 22% 12% 2 1	2600
July	1st to 10th	Day	48% 14% 29% 8% 1	5835
	11th to 20th	Day	40% 17% 32% 11%	5831
	21st to end	Day	38% 15% 26% 20% 1	6240
August	1st to 10th	Day	46% 14% 30% 8% 2	4221
	11th to 20th	Day	37% 15% 27% 15% 6%	3905
	21st to end	Day	47% 16% 26% 9% 2	3949
September	1st to 10th	Day	49% 15% 22% 13% 1	2200
	11th to 20th	Day	53% 12% 20% 12% 3	2200
	21st to end	Day	48% 12% 17% 13% 9% 1	2200
October	1st to 10th	Day	53% 12% 14% 12% 7% 3	3541
	11th to 20th	Day	30% 6% 10% 24% 25% 4	3240
	21st to end	Day	30% 5% 9% 24% 24% 7%	3538
November	1st to 10th	Day	32% 7% 11% 20% 19% 11%	2057
	11th to 20th	Day	35% 6% 9% 22% 19% 9%	2100
	21st to end	Day	35% 6% 10% 22% 19% 9%	2050
December	1st to 10th	Day	26% 4 15% 29% 17% 9%	3020
	11th to 20th	Day	38% 6% 11% 19% 18% 8%	3460
	21st to end	Day	42% 7% 12% 20% 16% 4	4565
January	1st to 10th	Night	31% 4 9% 23% 24% 9%	6019
	11th to 20th	Night	52% 5% 9% 19% 11% 4	6030
	21st to end	Night	40% 4 9% 24% 16% 6%	6416
February	1st to 10th	Night	37% 5% 11% 19% 20% 9%	2401
	11th to 20th	Night	30% 5% 10% 23% 23% 9%	2339
	21st to end	Night	27% 5% 13% 21% 26% 8%	1839
March	1st to 10th	Night	34% 5% 14% 21% 19% 7%	4918
	11th to 20th	Night	22% 4 16% 24% 17% 16%	4980
	21st to end	Night	32% 4 11% 26% 23% 5%	5467
April	1st to 10th	Night	24% 5% 18% 29% 17% 7%	2200
	11th to 20th	Night	26% 6% 15% 23% 23% 6%	2143
	21st to end	Night	25% 6% 13% 26% 25% 6%	2000
May	1st to 10th	Night	28% 8% 21% 26% 13% 3	4346
	11th to 20th	Night	30% 7% 19% 31% 12% 1	4033
	21st to end	Night	29% 10% 20% 29% 12%	4429
June	1st to 10th	Night	44% 10% 23% 19% 5%	1800
	11th to 20th	Night	43% 12% 25% 17% 3	1800
	21st to end	Night	42% 15% 24% 14% 4	1800
July	1st to 10th	Night	48% 14% 28% 9% 1	4015
	11th to 20th	Night	41% 20% 31% 8%	4006
	21st to end	Night	44% 14% 24% 18% 1	4297
August	1st to 10th	Night	40% 15% 31% 11% 3	2904
	11th to 20th	Night	36% 13% 30% 14% 7%	3168
	21st to end	Night	42% 17% 32% 8% 1	3949
September	1st to 10th	Night	48% 17% 23% 10% 2	2200
	11th to 20th	Night	50% 12% 22% 15% 2	2200
	21st to end	Night	46% 10% 19% 17% 8% 1	2200
October	1st to 10th	Night	56% 10% 11% 12% 7% 3	3623
	11th to 20th	Night	31% 6% 11% 25% 23% 4	3899
	21st to end	Night	29% 5% 10% 25% 24% 6%	4252
November	1st to 10th	Night	32% 6% 11% 21% 21% 9%	2461
	11th to 20th	Night	31% 6% 9% 27% 19% 8%	2520
	21st to end	Night	33% 5% 10% 23% 22% 7%	2565
December	1st to 10th	Night	23% 5% 16% 31% 14% 11%	4380
	11th to 20th	Night	35% 6% 12% 20% 17% 9%	4954
	21st to end	Night	44% 7% 14% 17% 13% 5%	6633

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	8% 7% 39% 28% 15% 3	330
	11th to 20th	Day	9% 12% 33% 29% 12% 5%	330
	21st to end	Day	15% 10% 43% 24% 8%	363
February	1st to 10th	Day	7% 10% 25% 32% 22% 4	300
	11th to 20th	Day	7% 7% 32% 31% 17% 6%	300
	21st to end	Day	9% 5% 25% 34% 24% 4	388
March	1st to 10th	Day	6% 6% 34% 36% 17% 2	500
	11th to 20th	Day	7% 7% 27% 30% 24% 4	500
	21st to end	Day	5% 5% 25% 34% 25% 5%	550
April	1st to 10th	Day	5% 6% 29% 35% 20% 4	500
	11th to 20th	Day	6% 6% 22% 36% 22% 8%	492
	21st to end	Day	5% 2 17% 34% 29% 13%	500
May	1st to 10th	Day	3 2 15% 31% 35% 14%	503
	11th to 20th	Day	10% 2 15% 24% 30% 20%	527
	21st to end	Day	8% 1 9% 19% 35% 28%	573
June	1st to 10th	Day	14% 1 12% 18% 29% 26%	530
	11th to 20th	Day	10% 2 6% 15% 30% 37%	530
	21st to end	Day	6% 1 4 13% 24% 52%	530
July	1st to 10th	Day	6% 1 3 11% 21% 57%	525
	11th to 20th	Day	4 1 2 13% 24% 57%	524
	21st to end	Day	7% 1 4 14% 22% 52%	576
August	1st to 10th	Day	7% 1 5% 13% 24% 51%	526
	11th to 20th	Day	4 1 3 9% 25% 58%	519
	21st to end	Day	9% 1 8% 16% 27% 40%	583
September	1st to 10th	Day	7% 4 5% 13% 27% 44%	530
	11th to 20th	Day	8% 2 8% 17% 32% 33%	530
	21st to end	Day	8% 2 6% 21% 34% 29%	530
October	1st to 10th	Day	12% 3 12% 30% 32% 10%	530
	11th to 20th	Day	5% 4 17% 33% 30% 12%	530
	21st to end	Day	7% 3 18% 32% 32% 8%	583
November	1st to 10th	Day	6% 6% 20% 31% 29% 8%	535
	11th to 20th	Day	11% 5% 19% 35% 26% 4	540
	21st to end	Day	10% 3 23% 35% 24% 5%	490
December	1st to 10th	Day	7% 7% 31% 32% 16% 8%	330
	11th to 20th	Day	8% 6% 28% 35% 18% 3	330
	21st to end	Day	9% 6% 26% 34% 20% 6%	363
January	1st to 10th	Night	10% 7% 26% 40% 16%	840
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 7% 29% 40% 12% 1	840
	21st to end	Night	13% 7% 33% 37% 9% 1	924
February	1st to 10th	Night	13% 5% 28% 38% 15%	801
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 7% 27% 40% 14% 1	783
	21st to end	Night	8% 3 30% 44% 14%	660
March	1st to 10th	Night	5% 7% 34% 43% 11% 1	800
	11th to 20th	Night	7% 6% 28% 42% 17% 1	800
	21st to end	Night	7% 4 28% 45% 16%	880
April	1st to 10th	Night	5% 4 27% 47% 17%	800
	11th to 20th	Night	6% 3 28% 45% 16% 1	791
	21st to end	Night	6% 3 26% 44% 21%	800
May	1st to 10th	Night	5% 2 17% 51% 23% 2	730
	11th to 20th	Night	8% 1 13% 41% 33% 4	591
	21st to end	Night	6% 2 9% 33% 45% 6%	650
June	1st to 10th	Night	10% 1 7% 29% 45% 9%	600
	11th to 20th	Night	7% 1 7% 17% 45% 23%	600
	21st to end	Night	8% 1 2 15% 45% 30%	600
July	1st to 10th	Night	8% 2 2 11% 48% 30%	585
	11th to 20th	Night	6% 1 2 10% 42% 39%	582
	21st to end	Night	5% 1 2 11% 46% 35%	657
August	1st to 10th	Night	6% 1 4 9% 45% 34%	597
	11th to 20th	Night	5% 2 3 8% 47% 35%	662
	21st to end	Night	11% 1 7% 21% 37% 23%	880
September	1st to 10th	Night	10% 2 5% 19% 39% 25%	800
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 2 8% 23% 40% 16%	800
	21st to end	Night	14% 2 8% 24% 40% 13%	800
October	1st to 10th	Night	16% 2 13% 38% 27% 5%	800
	11th to 20th	Night	9% 3 13% 37% 34% 4	800
	21st to end	Night	10% 2 21% 39% 25% 3	880
November	1st to 10th	Night	10% 2 22% 39% 24% 3	820
	11th to 20th	Night	8% 4 20% 42% 23% 2	840
	21st to end	Night	11% 2 23% 43% 20% 1	840
December	1st to 10th	Night	8% 4 25% 38% 25% 1	840
	11th to 20th	Night	10% 4 24% 39% 22% 1	840
	21st to end	Night	9% 5% 25% 39% 21% 1	924

Page generated at 2026-01-29 01:21:43. Version ac07

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