Richmond
Clear Sky Chart
History

This sumarizes the distribution of each different forecast outcome for the Richmond clear sky chart from 2005-11-06 to 2026-02-16.

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% 7% 3 7% 5% 5% 5% 4 6% 8% 40%	131015
	Night	13% 7% 2 6% 4 4 4 3 5% 7% 46%	130114
Transparency	Day	40% 6% 11% 20% 15% 7%	134690
	Night	37% 5% 12% 20% 17% 9%	134503
Seeing	Day	12% 7% 19% 26% 24% 13%	16438
	Night	14% 5% 21% 34% 23% 3	26427

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	18% 11% 3 7% 3 3 3 2 3 5% 42%	5289
	11th to 20th	Day	14% 6% 2 6% 3 3 3 2 3 6% 52%	5310
	21st to end	Day	26% 10% 3 7% 3 3 3 2 5% 6% 33%	5812
February	1st to 10th	Day	20% 9% 3 7% 5% 3 3 3 4 6% 38%	2037
	11th to 20th	Day	20% 10% 4 7% 4 4 3 3 4 5% 36%	1999
	21st to end	Day	20% 10% 2 7% 4 3 4 3 5% 5% 39%	1812
March	1st to 10th	Day	13% 8% 3 7% 5% 5% 4 3 5% 7% 39%	4936
	11th to 20th	Day	13% 6% 3 7% 5% 4 4 3 4 6% 46%	4980
	21st to end	Day	16% 8% 3 7% 5% 4 4 3 5% 6% 40%	5462
April	1st to 10th	Day	13% 9% 3 8% 5% 5% 5% 4 4 6% 38%	2200
	11th to 20th	Day	16% 8% 3 6% 5% 5% 4 4 5% 7% 38%	2299
	21st to end	Day	9% 7% 3 7% 7% 6% 5% 4 5% 6% 41%	2400
May	1st to 10th	Day	15% 8% 3 8% 5% 5% 5% 4 6% 7% 32%	5581
	11th to 20th	Day	11% 5% 2 7% 5% 4 4 4 6% 7% 44%	5862
	21st to end	Day	9% 7% 3 7% 6% 6% 6% 4 7% 10% 36%	6434
June	1st to 10th	Day	5% 4 2 7% 6% 6% 7% 5% 7% 10% 41%	2600
	11th to 20th	Day	5% 4 2 7% 5% 7% 7% 7% 8% 11% 38%	2600
	21st to end	Day	6% 6% 2 8% 8% 8% 9% 7% 8% 10% 28%	2600
July	1st to 10th	Day	7% 6% 3 9% 7% 7% 8% 6% 8% 11% 29%	5900
	11th to 20th	Day	5% 6% 3 8% 7% 7% 7% 6% 9% 13% 29%	5900
	21st to end	Day	10% 7% 3 7% 6% 6% 6% 5% 7% 10% 33%	6422
August	1st to 10th	Day	2 2 1 4 4 4 5% 4 7% 12% 55%	4234
	11th to 20th	Day	2 2 1 5% 4 6% 7% 7% 9% 15% 42%	4040
	21st to end	Day	6% 5% 3 8% 7% 7% 7% 6% 7% 9% 36%	4125
September	1st to 10th	Day	7% 7% 2 8% 6% 6% 7% 4 8% 9% 36%	2200
	11th to 20th	Day	11% 7% 3 8% 5% 5% 7% 5% 7% 7% 35%	2200
	21st to end	Day	7% 6% 2 6% 5% 6% 5% 4 7% 8% 45%	2200
October	1st to 10th	Day	6% 3 2 5% 4 4 4 4 6% 7% 56%	2105
	11th to 20th	Day	9% 5% 2 6% 4 4 4 3 5% 6% 53%	2000
	21st to end	Day	11% 5% 2 5% 4 4 4 3 5% 6% 52%	2200
November	1st to 10th	Day	10% 5% 2 6% 5% 4 5% 4 6% 9% 44%	2058
	11th to 20th	Day	11% 6% 3 6% 4 5% 4 4 5% 6% 47%	2100
	21st to end	Day	15% 7% 3 8% 5% 4 4 4 5% 6% 38%	2020
December	1st to 10th	Day	24% 9% 3 6% 4 3 4 3 4 8% 33%	3030
	11th to 20th	Day	12% 7% 2 7% 5% 4 5% 3 5% 6% 43%	3481
	21st to end	Day	14% 6% 2 6% 4 4 4 3 5% 6% 46%	4587
January	1st to 10th	Night	18% 8% 2 6% 3 3 3 3 4 5% 45%	7634
	11th to 20th	Night	13% 7% 2 6% 4 3 3 3 4 6% 49%	7680
	21st to end	Night	29% 8% 3 6% 3 3 3 2 4 6% 33%	8402
February	1st to 10th	Night	19% 9% 3 7% 4 3 3 2 4 5% 40%	2599
	11th to 20th	Night	20% 8% 3 6% 3 2 3 3 3 6% 44%	2398
	21st to end	Night	19% 9% 2 6% 4 4 3 3 4 4 40%	1815
March	1st to 10th	Night	19% 10% 2 6% 4 4 4 3 5% 6% 37%	4919
	11th to 20th	Night	17% 8% 3 6% 4 3 3 2 4 5% 46%	4980
	21st to end	Night	18% 10% 3 6% 4 3 3 3 4 5% 42%	5467
April	1st to 10th	Night	14% 8% 3 6% 4 5% 4 4 5% 7% 41%	2200
	11th to 20th	Night	17% 6% 3 5% 3 3 4 3 4 7% 44%	2049
	21st to end	Night	15% 6% 3 5% 5% 4 4 3 6% 7% 42%	2000
May	1st to 10th	Night	23% 9% 3 7% 4 4 4 3 6% 7% 29%	4316
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 7% 3 6% 4 4 4 3 6% 9% 43%	4053
	21st to end	Night	13% 10% 3 8% 5% 4 5% 4 7% 11% 30%	4443
June	1st to 10th	Night	4 3 2 4 3 3 4 3 6% 12% 57%	1800
	11th to 20th	Night	5% 4 1 3 3 4 4 4 7% 11% 56%	1800
	21st to end	Night	4 5% 1 6% 4 4 5% 4 7% 13% 46%	1800
July	1st to 10th	Night	5% 4 2 7% 5% 5% 5% 5% 7% 13% 43%	4078
	11th to 20th	Night	3 3 1 6% 4 5% 5% 4 8% 11% 49%	4077
	21st to end	Night	6% 5% 2 6% 5% 5% 5% 4 6% 10% 47%	4449
August	1st to 10th	Night	1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 4 9% 74%	2926
	11th to 20th	Night	1 2 1 3 2 3 3 3 7% 13% 60%	3013
	21st to end	Night	4 3 1 5% 4 4 5% 6% 7% 13% 49%	3767
September	1st to 10th	Night	5% 5% 2 7% 4 4 5% 4 7% 9% 48%	2200
	11th to 20th	Night	10% 6% 3 6% 4 4 4 3 6% 7% 46%	2200
	21st to end	Night	7% 4 1 5% 4 3 4 4 6% 8% 54%	2200
October	1st to 10th	Night	4 4 1 4 3 3 3 3 6% 8% 61%	2274
	11th to 20th	Night	8% 3 2 4 3 3 3 3 4 5% 62%	2400
	21st to end	Night	10% 5% 1 4 3 3 3 2 3 4 61%	2640
November	1st to 10th	Night	10% 6% 1 4 4 3 4 3 5% 6% 54%	2460
	11th to 20th	Night	12% 5% 2 5% 4 4 3 3 5% 6% 52%	2520
	21st to end	Night	15% 7% 3 6% 4 4 3 3 4 6% 45%	2596
December	1st to 10th	Night	23% 11% 4 7% 5% 3 3 3 4 5% 32%	4380
	11th to 20th	Night	13% 9% 2 7% 4 4 3 3 4 5% 45%	4946
	21st to end	Night	14% 7% 3 6% 4 3 3 2 4 6% 49%	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	46% 4 7% 20% 17% 7%	5290
	11th to 20th	Day	35% 3 5% 21% 22% 14%	5310
	21st to end	Day	54% 3 4 13% 16% 11%	5812
February	1st to 10th	Day	49% 3 6% 14% 15% 13%	2037
	11th to 20th	Day	51% 4 7% 13% 17% 8%	2009
	21st to end	Day	47% 5% 7% 16% 15% 10%	1812
March	1st to 10th	Day	43% 5% 8% 18% 13% 13%	4936
	11th to 20th	Day	41% 5% 6% 9% 20% 20%	4980
	21st to end	Day	45% 4 7% 19% 19% 6%	5464
April	1st to 10th	Day	46% 6% 7% 17% 14% 10%	2200
	11th to 20th	Day	46% 5% 8% 16% 16% 10%	2299
	21st to end	Day	42% 6% 8% 20% 18% 6%	2400
May	1st to 10th	Day	48% 7% 10% 19% 12% 3	5616
	11th to 20th	Day	37% 6% 10% 23% 20% 4	5866
	21st to end	Day	39% 8% 12% 30% 10% 1	6447
June	1st to 10th	Day	34% 8% 16% 25% 16% 1	2600
	11th to 20th	Day	34% 10% 14% 25% 16% 2	2600
	21st to end	Day	44% 12% 16% 19% 8%	2600
July	1st to 10th	Day	44% 11% 26% 17% 2	5836
	11th to 20th	Day	41% 10% 25% 20% 4	5831
	21st to end	Day	43% 10% 18% 23% 7%	6240
August	1st to 10th	Day	20% 7% 15% 42% 15%	4220
	11th to 20th	Day	26% 11% 30% 26% 5% 1	4079
	21st to end	Day	41% 9% 15% 22% 12% 1	4124
September	1st to 10th	Day	42% 10% 14% 15% 14% 4	2200
	11th to 20th	Day	44% 8% 12% 19% 15% 3	2200
	21st to end	Day	34% 7% 12% 19% 17% 12%	2200
October	1st to 10th	Day	20% 3 6% 15% 18% 37%	3430
	11th to 20th	Day	22% 4 7% 17% 35% 14%	3240
	21st to end	Day	28% 4 6% 16% 32% 13%	3538
November	1st to 10th	Day	35% 7% 9% 19% 21% 9%	2058
	11th to 20th	Day	38% 5% 9% 14% 21% 13%	2100
	21st to end	Day	45% 6% 8% 15% 16% 11%	2020
December	1st to 10th	Day	51% 4 6% 16% 19% 4	3030
	11th to 20th	Day	41% 5% 7% 17% 21% 10%	3479
	21st to end	Day	39% 5% 5% 17% 21% 12%	4587
January	1st to 10th	Night	42% 3 9% 17% 18% 10%	7635
	11th to 20th	Night	37% 3 4 18% 22% 15%	7680
	21st to end	Night	54% 3 5% 13% 16% 9%	8402
February	1st to 10th	Night	47% 4 7% 11% 18% 14%	2599
	11th to 20th	Night	43% 4 8% 15% 18% 12%	2398
	21st to end	Night	47% 5% 6% 14% 17% 11%	1815
March	1st to 10th	Night	48% 4 7% 15% 16% 10%	4919
	11th to 20th	Night	42% 4 7% 13% 17% 17%	4980
	21st to end	Night	45% 4 8% 14% 20% 9%	5467
April	1st to 10th	Night	43% 5% 9% 19% 15% 10%	2200
	11th to 20th	Night	41% 4 10% 17% 15% 14%	2049
	21st to end	Night	40% 5% 10% 21% 16% 8%	2000
May	1st to 10th	Night	53% 6% 10% 18% 10% 4	4346
	11th to 20th	Night	37% 5% 12% 25% 15% 6%	4054
	21st to end	Night	45% 8% 17% 23% 6% 1	4452
June	1st to 10th	Night	21% 6% 20% 33% 19% 1	1800
	11th to 20th	Night	22% 7% 18% 32% 18% 4	1800
	21st to end	Night	29% 9% 27% 24% 12% 1	1800
July	1st to 10th	Night	32% 8% 34% 24% 3	4035
	11th to 20th	Night	27% 8% 29% 30% 5%	4026
	21st to end	Night	33% 9% 22% 29% 7%	4320
August	1st to 10th	Night	9% 4 21% 52% 14%	2916
	11th to 20th	Night	15% 7% 36% 37% 5% 1	3040
	21st to end	Night	25% 13% 24% 27% 9% 1	3767
September	1st to 10th	Night	30% 9% 22% 20% 14% 4	2200
	11th to 20th	Night	35% 7% 15% 25% 16% 3	2200
	21st to end	Night	27% 7% 15% 23% 17% 11%	2200
October	1st to 10th	Night	16% 4 9% 17% 18% 36%	3716
	11th to 20th	Night	15% 4 7% 24% 34% 17%	3899
	21st to end	Night	20% 3 6% 20% 34% 18%	4252
November	1st to 10th	Night	30% 6% 11% 20% 22% 10%	2460
	11th to 20th	Night	33% 6% 10% 18% 21% 13%	2520
	21st to end	Night	41% 4 9% 19% 18% 10%	2596
December	1st to 10th	Night	55% 4 6% 15% 15% 6%	4380
	11th to 20th	Night	41% 4 9% 12% 19% 14%	4947
	21st to end	Night	38% 4 6% 16% 27% 9%	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	23% 11% 32% 23% 8% 2	330
	11th to 20th	Day	22% 14% 29% 24% 10% 1	330
	21st to end	Day	23% 17% 29% 23% 8% 1	363
February	1st to 10th	Day	23% 13% 28% 27% 8% 1	330
	11th to 20th	Day	27% 15% 27% 24% 6% 1	315
	21st to end	Day	26% 12% 40% 18% 4	249
March	1st to 10th	Day	19% 19% 38% 16% 8%	300
	11th to 20th	Day	15% 17% 43% 20% 4 2	300
	21st to end	Day	20% 14% 33% 23% 8% 1	330
April	1st to 10th	Day	17% 18% 33% 25% 7%	300
	11th to 20th	Day	21% 14% 29% 23% 12% 1	417
	21st to end	Day	12% 12% 33% 28% 13% 1	500
May	1st to 10th	Day	15% 9% 34% 27% 13% 1	575
	11th to 20th	Day	14% 6% 29% 31% 16% 3	725
	21st to end	Day	9% 5% 24% 38% 21% 4	789
June	1st to 10th	Day	5% 2 12% 35% 34% 12%	730
	11th to 20th	Day	7% 2 11% 36% 33% 12%	730
	21st to end	Day	9% 1 10% 25% 34% 21%	730
July	1st to 10th	Day	8% 3 6% 24% 35% 24%	721
	11th to 20th	Day	5% 1 4 23% 40% 28%	718
	21st to end	Day	6% 1 3 21% 43% 27%	794
August	1st to 10th	Day	2 1 3 22% 41% 31%	726
	11th to 20th	Day	4 1 3 15% 41% 36%	636
	21st to end	Day	10% 2 3 15% 32% 38%	474
September	1st to 10th	Day	10% 2 7% 19% 36% 26%	330
	11th to 20th	Day	9% 2 6% 21% 37% 25%	330
	21st to end	Day	8% 1 8% 25% 39% 19%	330
October	1st to 10th	Day	5% 3 7% 36% 38% 10%	330
	11th to 20th	Day	10% 2 13% 34% 28% 14%	330
	21st to end	Day	16% 7% 20% 27% 22% 8%	363
November	1st to 10th	Day	12% 6% 21% 30% 23% 8%	330
	11th to 20th	Day	13% 7% 25% 32% 19% 5%	330
	21st to end	Day	18% 14% 30% 25% 11% 3	330
December	1st to 10th	Day	21% 8% 30% 24% 12% 6%	330
	11th to 20th	Day	20% 14% 27% 28% 9% 2	330
	21st to end	Day	18% 8% 37% 24% 10% 2	363
January	1st to 10th	Night	22% 8% 31% 30% 10%	1050
	11th to 20th	Night	21% 9% 28% 33% 7% 1	1050
	21st to end	Night	23% 9% 30% 32% 6%	1155
February	1st to 10th	Night	25% 9% 28% 31% 6%	919
	11th to 20th	Night	25% 9% 28% 31% 6%	804
	21st to end	Night	23% 11% 36% 26% 4	495
March	1st to 10th	Night	23% 9% 33% 30% 6%	600
	11th to 20th	Night	19% 10% 32% 34% 6%	600
	21st to end	Night	16% 7% 34% 33% 8% 1	660
April	1st to 10th	Night	16% 8% 33% 37% 6%	600
	11th to 20th	Night	19% 9% 30% 32% 10%	593
	21st to end	Night	17% 8% 32% 32% 11%	600
May	1st to 10th	Night	15% 7% 32% 38% 8%	600
	11th to 20th	Night	12% 3 28% 43% 14% 1	591
	21st to end	Night	8% 5% 22% 43% 21% 1	650
June	1st to 10th	Night	5% 2 9% 46% 37% 2	600
	11th to 20th	Night	5% 2 10% 49% 33% 2	600
	21st to end	Night	5% 1 10% 30% 46% 8%	600
July	1st to 10th	Night	5% 1 4 30% 51% 8%	585
	11th to 20th	Night	3 1 2 26% 60% 8%	582
	21st to end	Night	3 1 3 29% 56% 9%	657
August	1st to 10th	Night	1 1 2 26% 62% 9%	597
	11th to 20th	Night	3 2 23% 63% 10%	594
	21st to end	Night	4 1 3 24% 56% 12%	660
September	1st to 10th	Night	5% 2 4 26% 51% 12%	600
	11th to 20th	Night	12% 2 6% 25% 48% 9%	600
	21st to end	Night	9% 2 6% 33% 46% 6%	600
October	1st to 10th	Night	5% 3 8% 37% 41% 7%	674
	11th to 20th	Night	9% 2 18% 42% 27% 2	800
	21st to end	Night	11% 7% 21% 37% 21% 3	880
November	1st to 10th	Night	11% 3 19% 40% 24% 2	820
	11th to 20th	Night	14% 5% 20% 40% 20% 1	840
	21st to end	Night	18% 6% 28% 33% 14% 2	916
December	1st to 10th	Night	22% 6% 25% 31% 15% 1	1050
	11th to 20th	Night	19% 10% 24% 36% 10% 1	1050
	21st to end	Night	20% 9% 30% 33% 8% 1	1155

Page generated at 2026-02-13 00:42:13. Version ac07

Copyright © 2026 Attilla Danko.