Ridgecrest
Clear Sky Chart
History

This sumarizes the distribution of each different forecast outcome for the Ridgecrest clear sky chart from 2005-11-06 to 2026-01-17.

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	1 1 1 2 1 2 2 2 3 5% 79%	135859
	Night	1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 4 6% 78%	133289
Transparency	Day	10% 2 4 13% 26% 45%	130935
	Night	11% 2 5% 17% 28% 38%	129185
Seeing	Day	5% 8% 17% 28% 26% 16%	16920
	Night	3 6% 19% 40% 29% 3	26739

By Month

Percentage Cloud Cover SW (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	2 1 1 3 2 3 2 2 4 7% 73%	3719
	11th to 20th	Day	2 2 1 3 2 2 3 3 5% 8% 70%	3780
	21st to end	Day	4 3 1 4 3 3 4 3 6% 8% 60%	4942
February	1st to 10th	Day	4 2 1 3 2 3 3 3 4 6% 71%	2000
	11th to 20th	Day	3 2 1 2 1 1 3 2 6% 9% 69%	1950
	21st to end	Day	4 2 1 3 2 2 3 4 4 6% 70%	1650
March	1st to 10th	Day	2 4 1 3 2 2 3 3 5% 8% 67%	4518
	11th to 20th	Day	3 3 1 3 2 3 3 3 5% 8% 65%	4685
	21st to end	Day	2 1 1 1 2 3 3 5% 10% 71%	5925
April	1st to 10th	Day	2 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 4 7% 74%	2400
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 4 5% 79%	2369
	21st to end	Day	1 1 1 1 3 2 5% 7% 79%	2400
May	1st to 10th	Day	1 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 4 81%	5792
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 5% 84%	5841
	21st to end	Day	1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 4 87%	6423
June	1st to 10th	Day	1 1 1 1 2 2 2 4 5% 81%	2693
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 1 1 1 3 4 88%	2800
	21st to end	Day	1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 88%	2800
July	1st to 10th	Day	1 1 1 1 1 1 2 92%	6319
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 1 2 1 2 1 2 4 84%	6320
	21st to end	Day	1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 4 87%	6348
August	1st to 10th	Day	1 1 1 2 1 2 1 3 4 84%	5346
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 1 1 1 2 94%	5364
	21st to end	Day	1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 4 85%	5984
September	1st to 10th	Day	1 1 1 2 1 2 2 2 3 4 82%	2400
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 89%	2235
	21st to end	Day	1 1 1 1 2 1 2 3 88%	2200
October	1st to 10th	Day	1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 89%	3600
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 4 85%	3394
	21st to end	Day	1 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 5% 79%	3368
November	1st to 10th	Day	1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 5% 82%	1854
	11th to 20th	Day	2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 5% 7% 73%	1890
	21st to end	Day	3 2 1 2 2 2 3 3 5% 8% 71%	1890
December	1st to 10th	Day	1 1 1 2 2 3 3 3 6% 7% 69%	3040
	11th to 20th	Day	2 3 1 3 3 4 4 3 6% 8% 62%	3499
	21st to end	Day	5% 4 2 4 3 3 4 5% 7% 8% 54%	4121
January	1st to 10th	Night	2 2 1 3 2 2 2 2 4 7% 74%	6446
	11th to 20th	Night	1 2 1 3 2 3 3 2 5% 8% 72%	6299
	21st to end	Night	5% 4 1 3 2 3 3 3 4 6% 65%	6049
February	1st to 10th	Night	3 3 1 4 3 2 3 3 4 6% 68%	2400
	11th to 20th	Night	2 3 1 3 2 3 3 2 4 6% 71%	2338
	21st to end	Night	4 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 6% 72%	1980
March	1st to 10th	Night	1 3 1 3 2 2 3 3 5% 9% 68%	5376
	11th to 20th	Night	3 3 1 3 3 3 3 3 5% 7% 65%	5313
	21st to end	Night	1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 5% 8% 72%	5033
April	1st to 10th	Night	2 1 1 2 2 2 3 2 4 6% 76%	2000
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 4 79%	1979
	21st to end	Night	1 1 1 2 1 2 2 3 5% 81%	2000
May	1st to 10th	Night	1 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 3 4 82%	4192
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 1 1 1 2 5% 87%	4074
	21st to end	Night	1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 90%	4474
June	1st to 10th	Night	1 1 1 1 1 1 3 6% 85%	1700
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 1 1 1 2 3 89%	1600
	21st to end	Night	1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 89%	1600
July	1st to 10th	Night	1 1 1 1 2 94%	3640
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 85%	3640
	21st to end	Night	1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 88%	4508
August	1st to 10th	Night	1 1 1 1 1 2 3 5% 85%	4486
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 1 1 1 2 94%	4506
	21st to end	Night	1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 4 84%	5015
September	1st to 10th	Night	1 1 2 2 2 1 1 2 4 85%	2000
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 3 88%	2165
	21st to end	Night	1 1 1 1 1 2 3 89%	2200
October	1st to 10th	Night	1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 90%	3600
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 1 1 1 1 2 4 87%	3759
	21st to end	Night	1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 4 83%	4437
November	1st to 10th	Night	1 1 1 2 1 2 1 2 4 6% 81%	2665
	11th to 20th	Night	1 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 4 6% 76%	2730
	21st to end	Night	3 1 1 2 2 2 3 2 5% 7% 73%	2730
December	1st to 10th	Night	2 2 1 2 2 2 3 3 6% 7% 72%	4370
	11th to 20th	Night	2 2 1 3 2 2 3 3 7% 9% 65%	4941
	21st to end	Night	3 3 2 4 4 4 5% 5% 7% 10% 53%	7044

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	13% 2 6% 36% 28% 15%	3719
	11th to 20th	Day	14% 3 12% 17% 26% 27%	3780
	21st to end	Day	22% 3 8% 23% 25% 19%	4942
February	1st to 10th	Day	17% 2 7% 21% 31% 23%	2000
	11th to 20th	Day	14% 3 6% 21% 33% 23%	1960
	21st to end	Day	17% 3 8% 22% 32% 19%	1650
March	1st to 10th	Day	16% 3 5% 20% 29% 27%	4518
	11th to 20th	Day	17% 3 7% 25% 32% 16%	4685
	21st to end	Day	9% 3 8% 22% 37% 20%	5925
April	1st to 10th	Day	12% 2 6% 21% 32% 26%	2400
	11th to 20th	Day	10% 2 5% 17% 37% 30%	2372
	21st to end	Day	7% 2 5% 19% 38% 30%	2400
May	1st to 10th	Day	10% 2 3 14% 30% 41%	5792
	11th to 20th	Day	6% 1 1 10% 33% 49%	5844
	21st to end	Day	5% 1 1 7% 31% 56%	6424
June	1st to 10th	Day	8% 2 3 12% 25% 52%	2693
	11th to 20th	Day	4 1 1 6% 21% 67%	2800
	21st to end	Day	6% 1 3 12% 77%	2800
July	1st to 10th	Day	3 1 1 2 8% 85%	6251
	11th to 20th	Day	7% 1 1 5% 10% 76%	6245
	21st to end	Day	6% 1 1 5% 22% 65%	6164
August	1st to 10th	Day	8% 1 1 5% 21% 64%	3890
	11th to 20th	Day	4 1 1 3 12% 80%	3880
	21st to end	Day	4 1 1 4 15% 76%	4311
September	1st to 10th	Day	9% 2 1 5% 15% 68%	2400
	11th to 20th	Day	4 1 1 6% 27% 60%	2235
	21st to end	Day	5% 1 1 7% 28% 58%	2200
October	1st to 10th	Day	5% 1 2 7% 21% 65%	3600
	11th to 20th	Day	6% 1 2 6% 28% 57%	3394
	21st to end	Day	10% 1 2 9% 31% 47%	3368
November	1st to 10th	Day	7% 2 3 15% 43% 30%	1854
	11th to 20th	Day	13% 2 5% 21% 32% 27%	1890
	21st to end	Day	13% 2 7% 21% 32% 24%	1890
December	1st to 10th	Day	14% 3 7% 23% 31% 22%	3040
	11th to 20th	Day	20% 4 7% 25% 35% 9%	3498
	21st to end	Day	26% 4 12% 28% 23% 7%	4121
January	1st to 10th	Night	13% 2 6% 30% 35% 14%	6446
	11th to 20th	Night	13% 3 10% 23% 28% 24%	6299
	21st to end	Night	21% 3 7% 22% 26% 20%	6049
February	1st to 10th	Night	19% 2 8% 19% 28% 24%	2400
	11th to 20th	Night	16% 2 5% 21% 31% 24%	2339
	21st to end	Night	14% 3 6% 24% 33% 20%	1980
March	1st to 10th	Night	14% 4 6% 22% 28% 26%	5376
	11th to 20th	Night	17% 4 9% 29% 27% 15%	5313
	21st to end	Night	11% 3 6% 30% 36% 14%	5033
April	1st to 10th	Night	12% 2 6% 25% 33% 22%	2000
	11th to 20th	Night	10% 2 4 22% 35% 26%	1979
	21st to end	Night	9% 2 3 23% 42% 22%	2000
May	1st to 10th	Night	8% 2 4 14% 39% 32%	4189
	11th to 20th	Night	4 1 1 14% 44% 35%	4075
	21st to end	Night	4 1 2 8% 41% 44%	4474
June	1st to 10th	Night	5% 1 2 14% 30% 47%	1700
	11th to 20th	Night	4 2 2 9% 21% 63%	1600
	21st to end	Night	4 1 1 4 14% 76%	1600
July	1st to 10th	Night	2 1 2 8% 87%	3600
	11th to 20th	Night	6% 1 1 5% 12% 75%	3592
	21st to end	Night	6% 1 1 4 25% 63%	4380
August	1st to 10th	Night	7% 1 1 6% 23% 62%	3256
	11th to 20th	Night	3 1 1 4 12% 80%	3256
	21st to end	Night	4 1 3 17% 75%	3608
September	1st to 10th	Night	8% 1 1 6% 18% 66%	2000
	11th to 20th	Night	5% 1 1 6% 29% 57%	2165
	21st to end	Night	4 1 2 6% 29% 59%	2200
October	1st to 10th	Night	4 1 2 6% 18% 69%	3600
	11th to 20th	Night	5% 1 2 6% 27% 60%	3759
	21st to end	Night	7% 1 2 7% 33% 49%	4437
November	1st to 10th	Night	8% 2 2 15% 40% 33%	2665
	11th to 20th	Night	12% 2 5% 17% 31% 33%	2730
	21st to end	Night	13% 1 5% 22% 31% 27%	2730
December	1st to 10th	Night	12% 2 6% 21% 35% 24%	4370
	11th to 20th	Night	15% 4 9% 29% 32% 11%	4941
	21st to end	Night	24% 5% 13% 29% 20% 8%	7044

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	9% 5% 16% 35% 26% 10%	220
	11th to 20th	Day	10% 7% 15% 25% 25% 17%	252
	21st to end	Day	8% 8% 17% 30% 25% 13%	533
February	1st to 10th	Day	10% 12% 18% 29% 21% 10%	500
	11th to 20th	Day	9% 12% 19% 33% 18% 8%	495
	21st to end	Day	10% 11% 22% 34% 19% 4	414
March	1st to 10th	Day	16% 17% 16% 27% 19% 6%	500
	11th to 20th	Day	11% 13% 25% 27% 17% 7%	500
	21st to end	Day	10% 16% 24% 31% 14% 4	550
April	1st to 10th	Day	10% 12% 24% 24% 21% 10%	500
	11th to 20th	Day	6% 16% 25% 26% 21% 6%	492
	21st to end	Day	6% 12% 23% 24% 20% 14%	500
May	1st to 10th	Day	7% 14% 25% 25% 20% 9%	503
	11th to 20th	Day	5% 12% 21% 27% 21% 13%	528
	21st to end	Day	4 12% 17% 24% 29% 14%	573
June	1st to 10th	Day	4 6% 21% 24% 25% 21%	530
	11th to 20th	Day	2 7% 23% 25% 27% 15%	530
	21st to end	Day	2 6% 20% 26% 26% 21%	530
July	1st to 10th	Day	2 3 15% 28% 29% 23%	526
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 11% 29% 26% 31%	524
	21st to end	Day	2 1 9% 32% 28% 26%	575
August	1st to 10th	Day	2 2 16% 31% 24% 24%	527
	11th to 20th	Day	2 2 11% 29% 30% 26%	517
	21st to end	Day	1 2 13% 28% 35% 21%	583
September	1st to 10th	Day	2 3 16% 23% 33% 23%	530
	11th to 20th	Day	2 7% 16% 26% 34% 15%	530
	21st to end	Day	3 5% 15% 26% 34% 17%	530
October	1st to 10th	Day	4 6% 16% 26% 30% 18%	530
	11th to 20th	Day	4 6% 15% 28% 31% 16%	530
	21st to end	Day	3 6% 10% 29% 29% 22%	468
November	1st to 10th	Day	4 9% 10% 29% 32% 16%	330
	11th to 20th	Day	4 5% 9% 38% 30% 14%	330
	21st to end	Day	5% 6% 13% 30% 30% 15%	330
December	1st to 10th	Day	3 4 12% 37% 31% 12%	330
	11th to 20th	Day	3 3 12% 41% 27% 14%	330
	21st to end	Day	12% 6% 16% 38% 20% 8%	250
January	1st to 10th	Night	6% 6% 17% 43% 25% 4	840
	11th to 20th	Night	3 3 17% 50% 25% 1	824
	21st to end	Night	7% 5% 20% 44% 22% 2	880
February	1st to 10th	Night	5% 7% 22% 40% 23% 2	800
	11th to 20th	Night	4 9% 21% 40% 23% 3	784
	21st to end	Night	6% 9% 22% 44% 17% 1	660
March	1st to 10th	Night	4 15% 24% 39% 17% 1	800
	11th to 20th	Night	6% 10% 26% 33% 22% 3	800
	21st to end	Night	3 14% 29% 37% 16% 1	880
April	1st to 10th	Night	3 12% 28% 34% 21% 2	800
	11th to 20th	Night	3 13% 27% 36% 20% 1	791
	21st to end	Night	2 12% 26% 35% 22% 4	800
May	1st to 10th	Night	3 13% 31% 35% 18% 2	640
	11th to 20th	Night	3 10% 25% 36% 25% 1	591
	21st to end	Night	2 11% 27% 39% 20% 1	650
June	1st to 10th	Night	1 6% 26% 41% 25% 2	500
	11th to 20th	Night	1 5% 26% 45% 23% 2	400
	21st to end	Night	1 3 19% 50% 26% 2	400
July	1st to 10th	Night	1 1 12% 42% 40% 4	390
	11th to 20th	Night	2 8% 47% 40% 3	388
	21st to end	Night	1 1 11% 45% 39% 3	669
August	1st to 10th	Night	2 1 14% 41% 38% 4	796
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 12% 37% 43% 6%	792
	21st to end	Night	2 1 12% 35% 43% 8%	880
September	1st to 10th	Night	1 1 11% 34% 47% 6%	800
	11th to 20th	Night	2 17% 37% 39% 5%	800
	21st to end	Night	1 4 14% 36% 39% 6%	800
October	1st to 10th	Night	1 4 17% 41% 34% 3	800
	11th to 20th	Night	1 5% 14% 37% 38% 5%	800
	21st to end	Night	2 5% 15% 37% 36% 6%	880
November	1st to 10th	Night	1 7% 14% 39% 35% 3	820
	11th to 20th	Night	2 5% 12% 46% 32% 4	840
	21st to end	Night	4 3 16% 42% 32% 3	840
December	1st to 10th	Night	5% 5% 13% 47% 28% 3	840
	11th to 20th	Night	5% 5% 17% 46% 25% 2	840
	21st to end	Night	6% 5% 20% 45% 21% 3	924

Page generated at 2026-01-13 22:14:31. Version ac07

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