I saw a shiny object in the sky the other day. I was confused and wasn't sure if I had viewed such a thing over the past few weeks.
I took several photos to document the occasion. I even pulled out my crystal ball to make sure the sighting was real.
Sure enough, it was the sun, and it made an appearance for the better part of two whole days.
When it sank below the horizon on the first of those two days, it made graceful and colorful exit.
However, by the second day the clouds started to absorb the sun before it even had a chance to make to the horizon.
Over this winter season, it seemed to me that the sun had gone into hibernation like some of the animals in the region. Nonetheless, whenever the sun came and went, it did make a brilliant entrance or exit.
In fact, a sunset on Dec. 28 was very spectacular.
It appeared that its brilliance wasn't just limited to this area.
Facebook pages and posts from across the state graced my newsfeed that evening and into the next day.
However, it seemed that that event must have been a grand finale of sorts before the sun went back into hiding.
It appeared that its brilliance wasn't just limited to this area.
Facebook pages and posts from across the state graced my newsfeed that evening and into the next day.
However, it seemed that that event must have been a grand finale of sorts before the sun went back into hiding.
I was determined to try to narrow down just how many the days the sun had been incognito. With help from some National Weather Service data and an internet search, the sun appeared to have been out of sight for quite a few days.
If I tallied things up correctly, there have been 28 overcast days observed from Dec. 1, 2022, to Jan. 18, 2023, by a weather station at the Franklin Airport. However, within that time span, there were 15 days of missing data. These were times when the instrumentation did not measure the sky cover. So far only Jan. 15 and 16 were listed as days pegged with the clear designation.
A little further research on the internet turned up that western Pennsylvania winters are more clouds than sun. A post on the Current Results site listed the "Cloudiest American Cities in Winter." The post included a chart listing the major U.S. cities averaging 50 or more days during winter when clouds covers over three-quarters of the sky. Pittsburgh came in with an average of 64 days of heavy clouds which added up to 71 percent of the winter days. The steel city was beat out by Buffalo, New York, that posted 68 cloudy days totaling 76 percent.
Despite the absence of the sun, the days are getting longer. According to timeanddate.com, Oil City should see nine hours and 34 minutes of sun, when the clouds part. The site listed that the sun currently rises at 7:41 a.m. and sets at 5:16 p.m.
By the end of January, the site posted that the sun is scheduled to set after 5:30 p.m. Whether or not we will be able to see the sunset through the clouds remained up in the air. The 10-day forecast on several weather sites didn't appear very optimistic about any sunny sightings. That's just the nature of things 'round here.
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