Effects of Cloud Cover on Temperatures

Mid-Missouri has seen a lot of overcast skies this weekend making for a somewhat dreary Saturday. Clouds will persist overnight and into most of Sunday afternoon, but it might be a blessing as cloud cover can change temperatures for the more pleasant.

During the day the main source of heat is the sun. When we have clear skies, as you can expect, more sunlight will heat the surface and lead to warmer temperatures. However, if there is dense cloud cover, some of the sunlight will be reflected off water droplets and back into space. Less energy from the sun will reach the surface and therefore it will be cooler.

When there is overcast skies at night, the opposite effect takes place. A clear night will be more cool than a cloudy night as the main source of heating at night is through heating from the Earth’s surface. If skies are clear, heat emitted from the Earth can more freely escape to space compared to if there are clouds present, which trap some of the heat and reflect it back to Earth.

With overcast skies expected Saturday night it will be warmer than in previous nights, and with overcast skies present for much of the daytime tomorrow we can expect more pleasant cooler conditions to linger here in Mid-Missouri before a warm-up starts on Monday.