Pinetop Observatory
Clear Sky Chart
History

This sumarizes the distribution of each different forecast outcome for the Pinetop Observatory clear sky chart from 2005-11-06 to 2026-07-16.

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	12% 6% 2 6% 5% 5% 5% 4 6% 8% 41%	137612
	Night	12% 6% 2 6% 4 4 5% 4 6% 7% 44%	135065
Transparency	Day	38% 7% 12% 22% 16% 4	141218
	Night	37% 7% 12% 22% 17% 4	139529
Seeing	Day	18% 14% 25% 24% 14% 6%	17184
	Night	16% 11% 25% 32% 15% 2	26991

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	13% 8% 2 6% 4 4 3 3 5% 6% 46%	5258
	11th to 20th	Day	11% 8% 2 7% 4 3 3 3 3 4 51%	5280
	21st to end	Day	13% 7% 3 7% 4 4 4 3 4 5% 47%	5780
February	1st to 10th	Day	11% 8% 3 8% 5% 5% 5% 3 5% 6% 43%	1890
	11th to 20th	Day	16% 7% 3 6% 5% 3 4 4 6% 6% 41%	1843
	21st to end	Day	15% 8% 3 6% 4 5% 4 4 5% 6% 41%	1802
March	1st to 10th	Day	14% 7% 3 7% 5% 4 4 4 6% 7% 41%	5045
	11th to 20th	Day	9% 5% 2 5% 3 3 3 3 6% 7% 52%	5090
	21st to end	Day	12% 8% 3 7% 5% 5% 5% 3 5% 6% 41%	5586
April	1st to 10th	Day	9% 8% 2 5% 5% 4 5% 4 6% 7% 46%	2457
	11th to 20th	Day	11% 6% 2 5% 4 4 4 4 6% 7% 47%	2494
	21st to end	Day	14% 7% 2 6% 5% 5% 5% 4 5% 6% 42%	2599
May	1st to 10th	Day	12% 6% 3 7% 5% 5% 6% 5% 7% 9% 36%	7616
	11th to 20th	Day	16% 6% 3 6% 4 4 5% 4 6% 8% 36%	7626
	21st to end	Day	19% 6% 2 6% 5% 4 5% 4 5% 8% 36%	8685
June	1st to 10th	Day	10% 5% 2 5% 5% 6% 5% 5% 7% 9% 42%	2940
	11th to 20th	Day	9% 5% 2 6% 5% 6% 6% 6% 8% 10% 37%	2940
	21st to end	Day	7% 4 2 6% 5% 5% 4 5% 8% 10% 43%	2940
July	1st to 10th	Day	6% 4 2 7% 5% 5% 6% 5% 8% 10% 41%	6078
	11th to 20th	Day	7% 6% 3 8% 6% 7% 7% 6% 9% 13% 29%	5965
	21st to end	Day	8% 6% 2 8% 5% 6% 6% 5% 8% 11% 33%	6424
August	1st to 10th	Day	12% 6% 2 6% 6% 5% 6% 6% 8% 11% 31%	4234
	11th to 20th	Day	8% 5% 2 7% 6% 6% 6% 5% 9% 10% 36%	4145
	21st to end	Day	7% 4 2 5% 4 4 5% 5% 7% 9% 47%	4312
September	1st to 10th	Day	11% 6% 2 6% 4 5% 5% 4 5% 5% 48%	2400
	11th to 20th	Day	12% 6% 3 7% 4 4 5% 3 6% 7% 45%	2276
	21st to end	Day	20% 7% 3 6% 4 4 4 5% 6% 7% 35%	2153
October	1st to 10th	Day	14% 5% 2 5% 3 4 4 3 5% 6% 49%	2000
	11th to 20th	Day	14% 4 3 5% 3 3 3 3 5% 6% 51%	2000
	21st to end	Day	12% 5% 2 5% 3 3 4 3 4 6% 51%	2200
November	1st to 10th	Day	11% 5% 2 4 3 3 3 3 6% 5% 54%	2057
	11th to 20th	Day	12% 6% 2 5% 4 3 3 3 6% 6% 50%	1860
	21st to end	Day	12% 7% 2 5% 4 4 3 4 5% 6% 48%	1680
December	1st to 10th	Day	10% 6% 2 5% 3 4 4 3 5% 7% 51%	2680
	11th to 20th	Day	16% 6% 2 4 3 4 4 3 5% 7% 45%	3070
	21st to end	Day	16% 8% 3 8% 4 4 5% 4 6% 7% 36%	4207
January	1st to 10th	Night	10% 6% 2 6% 4 4 5% 4 5% 6% 48%	7635
	11th to 20th	Night	10% 7% 2 5% 3 3 3 2 4 5% 54%	7680
	21st to end	Night	13% 7% 2 5% 4 3 3 2 4 5% 52%	8401
February	1st to 10th	Night	11% 8% 2 6% 4 4 5% 4 6% 6% 44%	2730
	11th to 20th	Night	18% 7% 3 6% 4 3 5% 4 4 7% 41%	2663
	21st to end	Night	13% 8% 3 5% 4 4 4 5% 5% 8% 41%	1999
March	1st to 10th	Night	15% 6% 3 5% 4 4 4 3 5% 6% 46%	5028
	11th to 20th	Night	9% 5% 2 5% 3 3 3 3 6% 8% 52%	5090
	21st to end	Night	11% 7% 2 7% 5% 5% 5% 3 5% 6% 44%	5588
April	1st to 10th	Night	12% 7% 3 6% 5% 4 4 4 6% 7% 43%	2163
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 5% 2 5% 4 3 4 5% 7% 8% 46%	2075
	21st to end	Night	13% 6% 2 5% 4 4 5% 4 6% 8% 44%	2038
May	1st to 10th	Night	14% 7% 3 6% 5% 5% 5% 4 6% 8% 38%	5237
	11th to 20th	Night	16% 7% 3 6% 5% 5% 5% 5% 7% 8% 36%	5234
	21st to end	Night	20% 6% 3 7% 4 5% 5% 4 5% 8% 34%	5464
June	1st to 10th	Night	9% 5% 2 5% 4 5% 4 4 7% 10% 44%	1680
	11th to 20th	Night	8% 5% 3 6% 5% 5% 4 5% 6% 9% 44%	1680
	21st to end	Night	8% 5% 2 4 4 5% 5% 4 7% 10% 45%	1680
July	1st to 10th	Night	7% 4 2 7% 5% 5% 6% 5% 7% 10% 42%	4093
	11th to 20th	Night	8% 8% 4 9% 7% 7% 8% 6% 8% 9% 27%	4102
	21st to end	Night	7% 6% 3 8% 7% 6% 7% 5% 8% 11% 32%	4427
August	1st to 10th	Night	13% 6% 3 8% 5% 5% 5% 5% 6% 10% 34%	2915
	11th to 20th	Night	8% 7% 3 8% 6% 5% 6% 5% 7% 9% 36%	2875
	21st to end	Night	8% 5% 2 6% 4 4 5% 4 7% 9% 44%	3581
September	1st to 10th	Night	11% 5% 2 5% 4 3 4 3 5% 7% 49%	2000
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 7% 2 5% 4 4 5% 4 6% 7% 45%	2120
	21st to end	Night	21% 8% 2 6% 4 4 4 3 4 5% 39%	2245
October	1st to 10th	Night	15% 5% 2 6% 3 4 4 3 5% 6% 46%	2400
	11th to 20th	Night	12% 6% 2 5% 3 4 4 4 4 6% 50%	2400
	21st to end	Night	12% 4 2 5% 4 3 3 3 5% 6% 52%	2640
November	1st to 10th	Night	10% 7% 3 4 4 3 4 3 5% 5% 53%	2461
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 6% 2 6% 4 3 4 3 5% 6% 50%	2751
	21st to end	Night	12% 5% 2 5% 4 4 4 3 5% 6% 49%	2940
December	1st to 10th	Night	8% 5% 2 5% 4 4 4 4 5% 8% 52%	4720
	11th to 20th	Night	16% 7% 3 6% 4 5% 4 3 5% 5% 41%	5345
	21st to end	Night	14% 7% 3 6% 4 5% 5% 5% 6% 7% 38%	6985

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	38% 5% 9% 21% 20% 7%	5259
	11th to 20th	Day	36% 4 6% 16% 22% 15%	5280
	21st to end	Day	41% 4 6% 26% 20% 5%	5780
February	1st to 10th	Day	42% 6% 10% 22% 17% 3	1890
	11th to 20th	Day	42% 7% 10% 19% 18% 4	1852
	21st to end	Day	43% 7% 11% 18% 16% 6%	1802
March	1st to 10th	Day	42% 6% 9% 17% 17% 9%	5045
	11th to 20th	Day	30% 6% 9% 26% 20% 9%	5090
	21st to end	Day	44% 7% 9% 16% 17% 7%	5586
April	1st to 10th	Day	36% 7% 12% 20% 18% 7%	2457
	11th to 20th	Day	35% 7% 12% 22% 19% 5%	2494
	21st to end	Day	42% 7% 11% 23% 13% 4	2599
May	1st to 10th	Day	42% 9% 12% 21% 14% 1	7651
	11th to 20th	Day	45% 7% 12% 22% 13% 1	7630
	21st to end	Day	44% 8% 12% 17% 15% 3	8700
June	1st to 10th	Day	36% 10% 15% 23% 15% 1	2940
	11th to 20th	Day	39% 12% 15% 20% 13% 1	2940
	21st to end	Day	33% 11% 17% 25% 12% 1	2940
July	1st to 10th	Day	36% 9% 19% 20% 12% 4	6013
	11th to 20th	Day	42% 12% 20% 21% 5% 1	5896
	21st to end	Day	42% 9% 14% 23% 12%	6240
August	1st to 10th	Day	44% 10% 18% 22% 6%	4221
	11th to 20th	Day	38% 10% 13% 27% 11% 1	4184
	21st to end	Day	32% 10% 19% 26% 12% 1	4312
September	1st to 10th	Day	37% 9% 14% 17% 19% 4	2400
	11th to 20th	Day	38% 7% 9% 25% 18% 3	2276
	21st to end	Day	47% 8% 11% 17% 15% 2	2153
October	1st to 10th	Day	31% 6% 8% 21% 28% 6%	3260
	11th to 20th	Day	25% 4 8% 27% 23% 13%	3240
	21st to end	Day	22% 4 10% 29% 22% 12%	3538
November	1st to 10th	Day	31% 4 10% 25% 25% 5%	2057
	11th to 20th	Day	34% 6% 10% 20% 22% 8%	1860
	21st to end	Day	35% 6% 10% 25% 21% 3	1680
December	1st to 10th	Day	33% 6% 10% 25% 19% 6%	2680
	11th to 20th	Day	39% 4 13% 23% 16% 5%	3066
	21st to end	Day	44% 8% 14% 19% 14% 1	4207
January	1st to 10th	Night	35% 5% 10% 24% 20% 7%	7636
	11th to 20th	Night	33% 4 7% 22% 24% 11%	7680
	21st to end	Night	36% 4 7% 27% 22% 5%	8401
February	1st to 10th	Night	39% 7% 12% 24% 16% 2	2730
	11th to 20th	Night	44% 6% 8% 20% 17% 6%	2665
	21st to end	Night	39% 7% 13% 21% 14% 6%	1999
March	1st to 10th	Night	37% 7% 9% 20% 18% 9%	5028
	11th to 20th	Night	27% 6% 10% 26% 25% 6%	5090
	21st to end	Night	40% 6% 11% 19% 19% 5%	5588
April	1st to 10th	Night	38% 8% 13% 19% 18% 4	2163
	11th to 20th	Night	32% 9% 15% 21% 19% 4	2075
	21st to end	Night	37% 7% 13% 25% 15% 3	2038
May	1st to 10th	Night	43% 8% 14% 21% 11% 3	5264
	11th to 20th	Night	44% 8% 14% 25% 10%	5235
	21st to end	Night	47% 8% 13% 19% 10% 3	5471
June	1st to 10th	Night	34% 10% 15% 26% 14% 1	1680
	11th to 20th	Night	35% 10% 18% 23% 12% 1	1680
	21st to end	Night	32% 11% 18% 20% 17% 2	1680
July	1st to 10th	Night	36% 11% 19% 20% 13% 2	4050
	11th to 20th	Night	49% 11% 17% 16% 6%	4051
	21st to end	Night	43% 10% 17% 21% 9%	4297
August	1st to 10th	Night	44% 10% 18% 23% 6% 1	2904
	11th to 20th	Night	41% 10% 14% 24% 10%	2902
	21st to end	Night	33% 9% 17% 30% 8% 2	3581
September	1st to 10th	Night	34% 9% 15% 20% 17% 5%	2000
	11th to 20th	Night	36% 8% 10% 26% 17% 3	2120
	21st to end	Night	47% 7% 11% 19% 15% 2	2245
October	1st to 10th	Night	41% 6% 9% 19% 20% 5%	3920
	11th to 20th	Night	26% 4 10% 21% 30% 8%	3899
	21st to end	Night	21% 4 10% 30% 28% 7%	4252
November	1st to 10th	Night	34% 5% 9% 22% 24% 6%	2461
	11th to 20th	Night	35% 5% 9% 21% 24% 6%	2751
	21st to end	Night	36% 5% 10% 24% 20% 5%	2940
December	1st to 10th	Night	31% 5% 11% 27% 22% 3	4720
	11th to 20th	Night	44% 5% 11% 18% 17% 6%	5348
	21st to end	Night	40% 8% 13% 22% 16% 1	6985

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	21% 34% 27% 14% 4	330
	11th to 20th	Day	28% 32% 26% 13% 2	330
	21st to end	Day	23% 29% 32% 14% 1	363
February	1st to 10th	Day	23% 28% 33% 13% 4	330
	11th to 20th	Day	38% 28% 24% 9% 1	330
	21st to end	Day	27% 23% 30% 17% 3	406
March	1st to 10th	Day	20% 25% 28% 20% 6%	540
	11th to 20th	Day	21% 26% 28% 18% 5% 2	540
	21st to end	Day	21% 21% 31% 21% 5% 1	594
April	1st to 10th	Day	22% 24% 26% 19% 9% 1	540
	11th to 20th	Day	20% 16% 30% 19% 12% 4	532
	21st to end	Day	22% 16% 31% 19% 11% 2	540
May	1st to 10th	Day	18% 20% 29% 21% 8% 3	543
	11th to 20th	Day	22% 11% 28% 22% 15% 3	567
	21st to end	Day	19% 7% 25% 25% 17% 7%	617
June	1st to 10th	Day	11% 8% 28% 27% 18% 7%	570
	11th to 20th	Day	12% 9% 25% 27% 18% 9%	570
	21st to end	Day	9% 5% 26% 31% 20% 9%	570
July	1st to 10th	Day	10% 4 17% 28% 26% 15%	565
	11th to 20th	Day	6% 2 15% 38% 28% 12%	544
	21st to end	Day	10% 3 18% 31% 25% 13%	576
August	1st to 10th	Day	14% 4 19% 26% 24% 13%	526
	11th to 20th	Day	11% 5% 16% 29% 27% 13%	519
	21st to end	Day	9% 4 12% 36% 23% 16%	583
September	1st to 10th	Day	12% 6% 18% 25% 23% 15%	530
	11th to 20th	Day	15% 3 15% 30% 25% 11%	530
	21st to end	Day	28% 9% 19% 22% 18% 4	530
October	1st to 10th	Day	17% 7% 21% 29% 20% 6%	530
	11th to 20th	Day	15% 16% 24% 24% 17% 4	530
	21st to end	Day	16% 14% 33% 23% 11% 3	583
November	1st to 10th	Day	16% 11% 30% 29% 11% 3	535
	11th to 20th	Day	21% 14% 30% 25% 9% 1	353
	21st to end	Day	21% 18% 33% 19% 7% 2	220
December	1st to 10th	Day	21% 22% 34% 17% 5% 1	220
	11th to 20th	Day	22% 20% 28% 20% 8% 1	220
	21st to end	Day	21% 25% 31% 17% 7%	278
January	1st to 10th	Night	17% 19% 36% 25% 3	840
	11th to 20th	Night	19% 18% 33% 27% 3	840
	21st to end	Night	17% 16% 40% 24% 2	924
February	1st to 10th	Night	15% 18% 34% 30% 2	840
	11th to 20th	Night	23% 21% 35% 20% 1	823
	21st to end	Night	19% 17% 37% 24% 2	692
March	1st to 10th	Night	16% 18% 33% 28% 4	840
	11th to 20th	Night	22% 19% 30% 21% 7% 1	840
	21st to end	Night	20% 15% 34% 26% 5% 1	924
April	1st to 10th	Night	17% 18% 35% 24% 6%	840
	11th to 20th	Night	14% 14% 31% 30% 10%	831
	21st to end	Night	17% 10% 29% 35% 9% 1	778
May	1st to 10th	Night	17% 9% 27% 33% 14% 1	630
	11th to 20th	Night	18% 5% 23% 37% 15% 1	621
	21st to end	Night	17% 2 17% 38% 24% 2	578
June	1st to 10th	Night	10% 1 18% 48% 22% 1	420
	11th to 20th	Night	9% 4 18% 41% 27% 1	420
	21st to end	Night	9% 3 17% 46% 23% 3	420
July	1st to 10th	Night	9% 4 11% 33% 38% 6%	586
	11th to 20th	Night	7% 1 9% 34% 42% 7%	597
	21st to end	Night	7% 2 12% 37% 35% 7%	657
August	1st to 10th	Night	13% 2 11% 36% 34% 4	597
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 3 12% 35% 36% 4	594
	21st to end	Night	12% 3 12% 35% 34% 4	875
September	1st to 10th	Night	13% 3 13% 35% 32% 5%	800
	11th to 20th	Night	13% 4 13% 34% 31% 5%	800
	21st to end	Night	25% 5% 18% 31% 19% 2	800
October	1st to 10th	Night	18% 7% 16% 32% 23% 4	800
	11th to 20th	Night	15% 10% 25% 34% 15% 1	800
	21st to end	Night	16% 9% 27% 34% 12% 1	880
November	1st to 10th	Night	15% 9% 24% 37% 13% 2	820
	11th to 20th	Night	16% 15% 26% 34% 9% 1	840
	21st to end	Night	16% 13% 29% 32% 8% 1	840
December	1st to 10th	Night	18% 13% 33% 30% 6%	840
	11th to 20th	Night	16% 14% 31% 33% 6%	840
	21st to end	Night	18% 14% 29% 36% 3	924

Page generated at 2026-07-13 03:14:49. Version ac07

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