IEM Daily Feature
Monday, 04 November 2002

Cloudiness

Posted: 04 Nov 2002 06:38 AM

Shown is an AWOS station plot valid for 6 AM this morning. The circle in the middle indicates cloud coverage fraction. Notice the temperatures at stations that are cloudy compared with stations that aren't. Clouds act as a longwave radiation blanket at night keeping the surface warmer than non-cloudy areas.