June Gloom
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June Gloom (also May Gray) is a California term for a weather pattern that results in overcast skies with mild temperatures during the late spring and early summer. The condition is actually prevalent in many parts of the world where marine stratus or stratocumulus clouds are common, particularly off the western coasts of continents—especially off Peru, Namibia, Western Australia, and California. Such cloud systems are persistent year-round off the coast, yet in certain seasons they blow ashore and create the gloomy "May Gray" effect on land. The June Gloom phenomenom has also been known to occur during the early autumn in California.
The early mornings are typically foggy with occasional drizzle. The fog turns to low clouds by late morning and early afternoon. Finally, by late afternoon, the clouds burn away and the sun shines. Often the overcast will burn off quickly inland, but it will stay mild and cloudy most of the day for the coastal areas.
However, these conditions turn out to be perfect for meteorologists who study cloud formations known as actinoform clouds and their relationship to this kind of weather.
In California, the number of days from May to June that are gloomy vary from year to year. Cooler ocean temperatures, associated with La Niña, usually foretell a more grey period.
June Gloom has been reported by some Californians to bring on symptoms consistent with Seasonal Affective Disorder.
[edit] References
- Haag, Amanda Leigh (August 9, 2005). Cloudy With a Chance of Drizzle. NASA Earth Observatory. Retrieved on May 4, 2006.
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