UTSA Observatory
Clear Sky Chart
History

This sumarizes the distribution of each different forecast outcome for the UTSA Observatory clear sky chart from 2005-11-06 to 2026-05-17.

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	14% 6% 2 5% 4 4 4 3 5% 7% 46%	132348
	Night	16% 5% 2 4 3 3 3 3 4 6% 50%	130814
Transparency	Day	36% 5% 9% 20% 18% 10%	136153
	Night	35% 5% 10% 19% 18% 13%	135073
Seeing	Day	16% 9% 24% 30% 18% 3	16715
	Night	18% 8% 25% 34% 15% 1	26743

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	16% 6% 2 4 3 2 2 2 3 5% 53%	5289
	11th to 20th	Day	15% 6% 2 5% 3 3 3 2 4 4 54%	5310
	21st to end	Day	25% 7% 2 4 2 2 2 2 4 6% 43%	6440
February	1st to 10th	Day	21% 7% 2 4 3 2 3 3 4 4 46%	2100
	11th to 20th	Day	19% 7% 2 5% 3 4 3 3 5% 6% 44%	2049
	21st to end	Day	17% 7% 2 4 2 3 3 2 4 5% 51%	1730
March	1st to 10th	Day	15% 6% 2 5% 3 3 2 2 4 6% 52%	4928
	11th to 20th	Day	16% 7% 2 5% 4 3 3 2 3 5% 51%	5090
	21st to end	Day	21% 7% 2 5% 3 3 3 2 4 6% 45%	5583
April	1st to 10th	Day	15% 7% 3 6% 5% 4 4 4 4 6% 44%	2310
	11th to 20th	Day	22% 6% 2 5% 4 3 4 3 5% 4 40%	2326
	21st to end	Day	18% 8% 2 6% 5% 4 4 2 4 6% 41%	2625
May	1st to 10th	Day	23% 7% 3 6% 4 4 4 3 5% 6% 35%	5992
	11th to 20th	Day	11% 5% 2 5% 4 4 4 3 6% 8% 48%	5941
	21st to end	Day	14% 6% 3 7% 5% 5% 5% 4 7% 9% 35%	6434
June	1st to 10th	Day	7% 4 2 5% 5% 5% 5% 5% 7% 8% 47%	2600
	11th to 20th	Day	9% 5% 2 6% 5% 5% 5% 5% 7% 8% 44%	2600
	21st to end	Day	10% 6% 2 7% 6% 6% 6% 5% 6% 9% 38%	2600
July	1st to 10th	Day	15% 7% 3 7% 5% 5% 4 4 5% 8% 37%	5900
	11th to 20th	Day	8% 5% 2 6% 5% 5% 6% 5% 7% 10% 42%	5900
	21st to end	Day	8% 5% 2 6% 6% 5% 5% 5% 8% 10% 41%	6422
August	1st to 10th	Day	2 2 1 2 3 3 3 3 5% 8% 67%	4075
	11th to 20th	Day	4 2 1 4 4 3 4 4 7% 12% 56%	3846
	21st to end	Day	5% 3 2 6% 4 5% 5% 5% 6% 11% 47%	4165
September	1st to 10th	Day	11% 7% 3 7% 5% 5% 5% 4 6% 9% 39%	2200
	11th to 20th	Day	10% 6% 2 6% 4 5% 5% 5% 6% 8% 41%	2200
	21st to end	Day	8% 5% 2 5% 4 5% 5% 4 6% 8% 48%	2200
October	1st to 10th	Day	7% 5% 2 4 5% 4 4 3 5% 6% 56%	2200
	11th to 20th	Day	14% 4 2 4 3 4 4 3 4 6% 52%	2110
	21st to end	Day	12% 4 2 4 3 3 4 3 4 6% 57%	2200
November	1st to 10th	Day	16% 7% 2 6% 4 3 3 3 4 6% 46%	2058
	11th to 20th	Day	15% 6% 2 5% 4 3 4 3 5% 6% 49%	1937
	21st to end	Day	19% 7% 2 5% 4 3 3 2 4 5% 45%	1890
December	1st to 10th	Day	28% 8% 3 6% 3 3 2 2 3 5% 37%	3030
	11th to 20th	Day	20% 7% 2 5% 4 3 4 3 4 5% 45%	3481
	21st to end	Day	15% 5% 1 4 2 2 3 2 3 4 58%	4587
January	1st to 10th	Night	16% 6% 1 4 3 2 3 2 4 5% 55%	7634
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 4 1 3 2 3 3 2 4 5% 63%	7680
	21st to end	Night	31% 4 2 4 2 2 3 2 3 5% 43%	7829
February	1st to 10th	Night	19% 6% 2 4 3 3 3 2 4 5% 50%	2520
	11th to 20th	Night	20% 7% 2 4 3 3 2 2 3 5% 49%	2458
	21st to end	Night	20% 5% 2 4 4 2 3 2 4 6% 48%	2076
March	1st to 10th	Night	19% 6% 2 5% 4 3 3 3 4 6% 45%	5149
	11th to 20th	Night	16% 7% 2 5% 3 3 3 2 3 4 52%	5090
	21st to end	Night	23% 8% 2 4 2 3 2 3 4 5% 44%	5588
April	1st to 10th	Night	16% 6% 2 5% 4 3 4 2 6% 7% 45%	2310
	11th to 20th	Night	23% 6% 2 5% 3 3 3 3 3 4 45%	2237
	21st to end	Night	24% 5% 2 5% 4 2 3 3 4 5% 43%	1991
May	1st to 10th	Night	27% 8% 2 5% 4 3 3 3 4 5% 36%	4143
	11th to 20th	Night	12% 4 1 5% 3 4 4 3 6% 7% 49%	4107
	21st to end	Night	17% 7% 2 6% 4 5% 4 4 5% 10% 37%	4443
June	1st to 10th	Night	7% 4 2 3 2 3 4 3 5% 9% 58%	1800
	11th to 20th	Night	8% 5% 2 4 3 4 4 3 5% 9% 55%	1800
	21st to end	Night	9% 6% 2 5% 4 4 4 4 6% 10% 47%	1800
July	1st to 10th	Night	14% 6% 2 6% 4 4 5% 4 6% 9% 40%	4078
	11th to 20th	Night	7% 4 2 5% 4 4 6% 4 7% 11% 45%	4077
	21st to end	Night	11% 5% 2 5% 3 4 5% 4 7% 8% 45%	4449
August	1st to 10th	Night	2 1 1 3 2 2 3 2 4 8% 73%	3080
	11th to 20th	Night	3 3 1 4 3 3 4 4 7% 11% 57%	3213
	21st to end	Night	6% 3 1 4 3 4 4 4 7% 10% 53%	3725
September	1st to 10th	Night	9% 6% 2 7% 4 5% 5% 4 5% 8% 47%	2200
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 5% 2 7% 4 4 5% 3 6% 7% 46%	2200
	21st to end	Night	9% 4 2 5% 3 4 4 4 6% 9% 50%	2200
October	1st to 10th	Night	7% 4 1 3 4 4 4 4 5% 7% 59%	2200
	11th to 20th	Night	13% 4 2 4 3 3 3 2 4 5% 57%	2270
	21st to end	Night	16% 4 2 3 2 2 2 2 3 3 62%	2640
November	1st to 10th	Night	16% 6% 2 5% 3 2 3 2 3 5% 53%	2460
	11th to 20th	Night	13% 5% 2 4 3 4 3 2 4 5% 55%	2678
	21st to end	Night	20% 4 2 4 4 3 3 3 4 6% 47%	2730
December	1st to 10th	Night	28% 8% 3 6% 3 3 3 2 3 5% 37%	4380
	11th to 20th	Night	24% 7% 2 5% 3 2 2 2 3 3 47%	4946
	21st to end	Night	19% 5% 1 3 2 2 2 2 3 5% 55%	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	35% 3 6% 20% 24% 12%	5290
	11th to 20th	Day	35% 2 3 14% 24% 22%	5310
	21st to end	Day	44% 2 5% 13% 25% 10%	6440
February	1st to 10th	Day	43% 2 5% 13% 21% 16%	2100
	11th to 20th	Day	43% 3 6% 16% 19% 12%	2059
	21st to end	Day	37% 4 6% 17% 20% 15%	1730
March	1st to 10th	Day	35% 3 6% 18% 16% 22%	4928
	11th to 20th	Day	38% 4 4 9% 16% 30%	5090
	21st to end	Day	40% 5% 7% 18% 20% 10%	5585
April	1st to 10th	Day	43% 4 7% 16% 17% 12%	2310
	11th to 20th	Day	45% 5% 6% 16% 15% 13%	2326
	21st to end	Day	45% 5% 7% 17% 16% 10%	2625
May	1st to 10th	Day	48% 7% 9% 17% 14% 5%	6030
	11th to 20th	Day	34% 6% 12% 19% 20% 9%	5945
	21st to end	Day	40% 8% 11% 27% 14% 1	6447
June	1st to 10th	Day	30% 9% 13% 27% 19% 3	2600
	11th to 20th	Day	35% 6% 12% 24% 19% 4	2600
	21st to end	Day	41% 7% 12% 24% 13% 3	2600
July	1st to 10th	Day	44% 7% 15% 29% 5% 1	5836
	11th to 20th	Day	34% 8% 17% 29% 11% 1	5831
	21st to end	Day	35% 7% 16% 25% 14% 2	6240
August	1st to 10th	Day	15% 5% 10% 45% 24% 1	4061
	11th to 20th	Day	21% 6% 23% 36% 12% 2	3882
	21st to end	Day	30% 9% 18% 23% 19% 2	4164
September	1st to 10th	Day	41% 7% 10% 18% 17% 8%	2200
	11th to 20th	Day	38% 8% 12% 20% 18% 5%	2200
	21st to end	Day	32% 7% 10% 21% 17% 13%	2200
October	1st to 10th	Day	17% 4 7% 11% 26% 35%	3590
	11th to 20th	Day	26% 4 8% 19% 23% 21%	3415
	21st to end	Day	28% 4 5% 18% 31% 15%	3538
November	1st to 10th	Day	41% 4 7% 18% 18% 12%	2058
	11th to 20th	Day	36% 4 8% 16% 20% 16%	1937
	21st to end	Day	43% 5% 6% 15% 19% 13%	1890
December	1st to 10th	Day	52% 3 5% 16% 14% 10%	3030
	11th to 20th	Day	42% 5% 7% 13% 20% 13%	3479
	21st to end	Day	32% 3 4 17% 27% 17%	4587
January	1st to 10th	Night	33% 4 6% 18% 23% 16%	7635
	11th to 20th	Night	27% 2 4 16% 29% 23%	7680
	21st to end	Night	47% 2 3 13% 22% 13%	7829
February	1st to 10th	Night	36% 5% 6% 13% 20% 19%	2520
	11th to 20th	Night	40% 3 6% 18% 18% 15%	2458
	21st to end	Night	39% 4 6% 16% 19% 16%	2076
March	1st to 10th	Night	40% 5% 6% 17% 16% 17%	5149
	11th to 20th	Night	37% 5% 6% 12% 14% 26%	5090
	21st to end	Night	42% 5% 7% 19% 17% 10%	5588
April	1st to 10th	Night	38% 5% 10% 18% 15% 14%	2310
	11th to 20th	Night	43% 5% 8% 13% 16% 15%	2237
	21st to end	Night	45% 5% 8% 18% 14% 10%	1991
May	1st to 10th	Night	50% 6% 7% 16% 14% 7%	4170
	11th to 20th	Night	32% 6% 10% 21% 20% 10%	4108
	21st to end	Night	41% 8% 13% 27% 10% 1	4452
June	1st to 10th	Night	24% 6% 17% 31% 20% 3	1800
	11th to 20th	Night	25% 7% 13% 29% 21% 5%	1800
	21st to end	Night	31% 8% 18% 27% 14% 2	1800
July	1st to 10th	Night	40% 9% 22% 25% 4 1	4035
	11th to 20th	Night	29% 10% 22% 28% 10% 1	4026
	21st to end	Night	34% 8% 20% 24% 12% 2	4320
August	1st to 10th	Night	12% 5% 17% 47% 20%	3070
	11th to 20th	Night	19% 8% 31% 33% 7% 1	3243
	21st to end	Night	25% 11% 23% 24% 16% 2	3725
September	1st to 10th	Night	35% 7% 16% 19% 16% 7%	2200
	11th to 20th	Night	36% 7% 15% 23% 14% 5%	2200
	21st to end	Night	30% 7% 13% 22% 16% 12%	2200
October	1st to 10th	Night	17% 3 7% 16% 21% 36%	3590
	11th to 20th	Night	22% 3 10% 17% 30% 19%	3691
	21st to end	Night	26% 3 6% 17% 31% 16%	4252
November	1st to 10th	Night	35% 4 7% 18% 22% 15%	2460
	11th to 20th	Night	32% 4 9% 18% 21% 17%	2678
	21st to end	Night	39% 4 7% 17% 19% 14%	2730
December	1st to 10th	Night	52% 3 6% 14% 13% 12%	4380
	11th to 20th	Night	43% 4 5% 11% 19% 19%	4947
	21st to end	Night	34% 3 4 13% 27% 18%	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	27% 18% 33% 16% 5% 1	330
	11th to 20th	Day	25% 15% 32% 20% 6% 1	330
	21st to end	Day	23% 18% 37% 16% 6%	363
February	1st to 10th	Day	32% 15% 25% 21% 6%	330
	11th to 20th	Day	30% 18% 34% 15% 3 1	330
	21st to end	Day	28% 17% 38% 14% 3	273
March	1st to 10th	Day	27% 21% 37% 14% 2	330
	11th to 20th	Day	18% 21% 43% 15% 3	330
	21st to end	Day	22% 18% 36% 18% 5% 1	363
April	1st to 10th	Day	25% 16% 39% 19% 1	330
	11th to 20th	Day	23% 17% 36% 20% 3	364
	21st to end	Day	22% 14% 40% 19% 4	645
May	1st to 10th	Day	21% 15% 36% 23% 5%	753
	11th to 20th	Day	16% 12% 33% 29% 8% 1	756
	21st to end	Day	16% 6% 35% 31% 11% 1	789
June	1st to 10th	Day	8% 3 21% 44% 22% 2	730
	11th to 20th	Day	9% 3 21% 47% 18% 2	730
	21st to end	Day	10% 4 16% 36% 28% 5%	730
July	1st to 10th	Day	12% 4 11% 35% 32% 6%	721
	11th to 20th	Day	8% 2 8% 37% 41% 5%	718
	21st to end	Day	7% 2 6% 37% 41% 7%	794
August	1st to 10th	Day	3 1 7% 36% 43% 10%	632
	11th to 20th	Day	6% 1 6% 43% 35% 9%	517
	21st to end	Day	5% 2 6% 35% 39% 13%	501
September	1st to 10th	Day	10% 2 11% 32% 38% 7%	330
	11th to 20th	Day	6% 2 7% 37% 39% 8%	330
	21st to end	Day	8% 1 12% 36% 32% 10%	330
October	1st to 10th	Day	7% 2 17% 42% 27% 5%	330
	11th to 20th	Day	12% 4 21% 41% 19% 3	330
	21st to end	Day	19% 13% 22% 31% 12% 3	363
November	1st to 10th	Day	19% 10% 27% 29% 12% 3	330
	11th to 20th	Day	19% 12% 28% 29% 11% 1	330
	21st to end	Day	27% 15% 34% 16% 7% 2	330
December	1st to 10th	Day	23% 13% 34% 23% 6% 2	330
	11th to 20th	Day	29% 13% 28% 22% 7% 1	330
	21st to end	Day	22% 12% 34% 24% 6% 2	363
January	1st to 10th	Night	21% 9% 25% 34% 10%	1050
	11th to 20th	Night	22% 12% 29% 31% 7%	1050
	21st to end	Night	27% 10% 25% 31% 6%	955
February	1st to 10th	Night	26% 11% 25% 31% 7%	840
	11th to 20th	Night	28% 12% 30% 25% 5%	824
	21st to end	Night	25% 14% 32% 26% 3	692
March	1st to 10th	Night	27% 12% 33% 25% 3	689
	11th to 20th	Night	23% 13% 30% 29% 5%	630
	21st to end	Night	21% 13% 37% 24% 4	693
April	1st to 10th	Night	18% 13% 42% 23% 4	630
	11th to 20th	Night	26% 13% 35% 24% 3	623
	21st to end	Night	27% 8% 35% 24% 5% 1	630
May	1st to 10th	Night	19% 11% 42% 23% 3	630
	11th to 20th	Night	17% 8% 37% 31% 8%	609
	21st to end	Night	15% 11% 35% 28% 10%	650
June	1st to 10th	Night	7% 4 28% 44% 17% 1	600
	11th to 20th	Night	7% 4 35% 43% 11% 1	600
	21st to end	Night	8% 3 25% 40% 22% 3	600
July	1st to 10th	Night	11% 3 18% 41% 25% 3	585
	11th to 20th	Night	4 2 13% 53% 26% 2	582
	21st to end	Night	8% 2 11% 49% 28% 2	657
August	1st to 10th	Night	2 1 11% 50% 33% 3	597
	11th to 20th	Night	6% 1 12% 48% 29% 4	594
	21st to end	Night	7% 2 7% 40% 40% 4	660
September	1st to 10th	Night	11% 2 10% 43% 30% 4	600
	11th to 20th	Night	12% 2 10% 41% 33% 3	600
	21st to end	Night	10% 2 13% 40% 32% 4	600
October	1st to 10th	Night	8% 2 13% 48% 26% 4	600
	11th to 20th	Night	14% 3 20% 39% 22% 2	670
	21st to end	Night	17% 8% 21% 33% 18% 3	880
November	1st to 10th	Night	17% 6% 22% 34% 20% 1	820
	11th to 20th	Night	15% 7% 22% 39% 16% 2	998
	21st to end	Night	23% 10% 23% 31% 13% 1	1050
December	1st to 10th	Night	24% 7% 24% 33% 11% 1	1050
	11th to 20th	Night	27% 8% 24% 31% 10%	1050
	21st to end	Night	22% 10% 25% 34% 10%	1155

Page generated at 2026-05-14 00:58:55. Version ac07

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