Free web tool · Imagen Index #4
Gray Sky Index: the cloudiest US cities, month by month
Seattle is the grayest US listing market: 226 gray days a year, 3.2× Phoenix. Even in peak listing season it gets 77. Find your market, its clearest months for exterior shoots, and this week’s shoot call.
- Grayest market
- 226
- gray days a year, Seattle, WA
- Sunniest market
- 70
- gray days a year, Phoenix, AZ
- Typical market
- 152
- median gray days a year, all 43
- In listing season
- 77
- gray days March to June, Seattle
The 10 cloudiest US cities
Shoot today?
National Weather Service forecast: average sky cover from 9am to 5pm local time, for the next 7 days.
Partly cloudy: shoot exteriors midday
Today 57% sky cover, 5% chance of rain. Least gray day this week: Tue, Nov 3, 57%.
- 57%Tue11/3
- 63%Wed11/4
- 64%Thu11/5
- 86%Fri11/6
- 82%Sat11/7
- 82%Sun11/8
- 85%Mon11/9
Clear (35% or less)Partly cloudy (to 65%)Gray
Every metro: gray days, sunny days, best and worst months
Click a column to sort; a metro for its own page.
| Seattle, WA | 226 | 140 | 77 | July | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland, OR | 222 | 142 | 79 | July, August | December |
| Buffalo, NY | 208 | 157 | 64 | July | January, December |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 203 | 162 | 67 | June, July, August, September | December |
| Cleveland, OH | 202 | 163 | 64 | July, August | January, December |
| Columbus, OH | 190 | 175 | 64 | July, August | January, December |
| Cincinnati, OH | 186 | 179 | 64 | August, September | January, December |
| Detroit, MI | 185 | 180 | 59 | July | December |
| Madison, WI | 180 | 185 | 61 | July | December |
| Indianapolis, IN | 179 | 187 | 62 | July, August | December |
| Chicago, IL | 176 | 189 | 59 | July | December |
| Milwaukee, WI | 175 | 190 | 59 | July, August | December |
| Louisville, KY | 171 | 195 | 58 | August | January |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN | 169 | 196 | 59 | July | November, December |
| Washington, DC | 164 | 202 | 54 | June | January, December |
| Boston, MA | 164 | 201 | 58 | August | January, March, April, May, November, December |
| St. Louis, MO | 164 | 202 | 57 | July, August, September | January, December |
| Houston, TX | 161 | 204 | 57 | July, August | January, March, December |
| Philadelphia, PA | 160 | 205 | 55 | August, September | January |
| Nashville, TN | 156 | 208 | 52 | August | January |
| Charlotte, NC | 152 | 214 | 51 | October | January |
| Baltimore, MD | 152 | 213 | 50 | June, July | December |
| Atlanta, GA | 149 | 217 | 48 | June, August, September, October | January |
| Raleigh, NC | 149 | 217 | 49 | April, June, August, September, October, November | January |
| Kansas City, MO | 149 | 216 | 55 | July | March |
| New Orleans, LA | 146 | 219 | 47 | June, October | January |
| Jacksonville, FL | 144 | 221 | 44 | April | January, December |
| San Antonio, TX | 141 | 224 | 52 | August | January, December |
| Salt Lake City, UT | 139 | 226 | 48 | July, August | January |
| Austin, TX | 136 | 229 | 50 | August | January |
| Dallas-Fort Worth, TX | 133 | 232 | 48 | July, August | January |
| New York, NY | 132 | 234 | 45 | September, October | January |
| Orlando, FL | 130 | 236 | 42 | April, May | January, March, June, September, December |
| Tampa, FL | 121 | 244 | 36 | April, May | January, July |
| Denver, CO | 120 | 245 | 47 | July | March, April, May |
| Miami, FL | 115 | 249 | 37 | April | June |
| San Francisco, CA | 105 | 260 | 36 | July, August | January |
| Los Angeles, CA | 103 | 263 | 39 | July, August | January, February, March |
| San Diego, CA | 102 | 263 | 41 | August | January, March, May |
| Sacramento, CA | 100 | 265 | 27 | July, August | January |
| Albuquerque, NM | 87 | 278 | 29 | June | January, February, March, December |
| Las Vegas, NV | 73 | 292 | 24 | September | January |
| Phoenix, AZ | 70 | 296 | 19 | June | January |
Cloudiest states
The average of the metros we track in each state.
When to shoot: gray days by month
Darker means more gray days that month. Peak listing season, March to June, is outlined.
| Metro | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle, WA | 24 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 19 | 23 | 25 |
| Portland, OR | 24 | 21 | 23 | 21 | 19 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 18 | 23 | 26 |
| Buffalo, NY | 24 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 23 | 24 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 22 | 19 | 20 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 20 | 23 |
| Cleveland, OH | 24 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 21 | 24 |
| Columbus, OH | 21 | 18 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 19 | 21 |
| Cincinnati, OH | 20 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 20 |
| Detroit, MI | 20 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 22 |
| Madison, WI | 17 | 15 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 18 | 19 |
| Indianapolis, IN | 19 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 17 | 20 |
| Chicago, IL | 18 | 16 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 19 |
| Milwaukee, WI | 18 | 15 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 18 | 19 |
| Louisville, KY | 20 | 16 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 16 | 19 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN | 15 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 18 | 18 |
| Washington, DC | 16 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 16 |
| Boston, MA | 15 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 15 |
| St. Louis, MO | 17 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 17 |
| Houston, TX | 18 | 16 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 18 |
| Philadelphia, PA | 16 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 15 |
| Nashville, TN | 18 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 17 |
| Charlotte, NC | 16 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 15 |
| Baltimore, MD | 15 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 16 |
| Atlanta, GA | 16 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 15 |
| Raleigh, NC | 15 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 14 |
| Kansas City, MO | 14 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 15 |
| New Orleans, LA | 17 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 16 |
| Jacksonville, FL | 14 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 14 |
| San Antonio, TX | 16 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 16 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | 19 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 15 | 18 |
| Austin, TX | 16 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth, TX | 16 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 14 |
| New York, NY | 14 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 13 |
| Orlando, FL | 12 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 12 |
| Tampa, FL | 12 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 11 |
| Denver, CO | 11 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 |
| Miami, FL | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 9 |
| San Francisco, CA | 15 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 14 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 11 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 |
| San Diego, CA | 11 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 10 |
| Sacramento, CA | 19 | 13 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 17 |
| Albuquerque, NM | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 10 |
| Las Vegas, NV | 11 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 10 |
| Phoenix, AZ | 10 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 9 |
Why gray days matter for listings
69% of altered listing photos are sky replacements (Coraly study of ~40,000 primary listing photos, via HousingWire,Q1 2026). Gray skies are where the temptation starts, and a growing number of states and MLSs now require a replaced sky to be labeled, with the original photo nearby. The Listing Photo Rules Tracker lists where.
Plan exterior shoots for the clearest weeks in your market, keep interiors for the gray days, and when a sky has to be replaced, replace it consistently across the whole listing and label it where the rules ask.
Method and sources
Gray days are NOAA’s mean number of cloudy days: days with 8/10 to 10/10 average sky cover in daylight hours. Sunny days are the clear and partly cloudy days together. Each metro is one main airport or city station, averaged over its years of record (NOAA NCEI, Comparative Climatic Data).
The forecast is the National Weather Service’s gridpoint forecast for the same station, fetched every morning.
Sources: NOAA NCEI Comparative Climatic Data: mean number of clear, partly cloudy and cloudy days; US National Weather Service gridpoint forecast; sky-swap share: Coraly study of ~40,000 primary listing photos, via HousingWire.
Gray Sky Index: questions
What is the cloudiest city in the US?
Of the 43 metros we track, Seattle, WA is the cloudiest, with 226 gray days a year on NOAA’s long-term average. Its clearest month for exterior shoots is July.
Which state has the cloudiest weather?
By the metros we track, Washington and Oregon are the grayest, followed by Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Phoenix, Las Vegas and Albuquerque have the fewest gray days.
Can you shoot listing exteriors on an overcast day?
Yes. Soft light from an even overcast keeps shadows gentle, and many photographers shoot exteriors in it and replace the sky afterwards. In markets that require it, a replaced sky has to be labeled. See the Listing Photo Rules Tracker.
Do you have to disclose a sky replacement?
In some places, yes. California’s AB 723 and several MLS rules treat a replaced sky as a material change that must be labeled, with the original photo nearby. The Listing Photo Rules Tracker lists where.
How is a gray day measured?
NOAA counts a day as cloudy when average sky cover in daylight hours is 8/10 to 10/10. The figures here are each station’s long-term averages, not a single year.
More free tools
Listing Difficulty Index
A 0–100 score for 43 US metros on how hard a listing has to work to stand out, and each market’s busiest listing months.
Listing Photo Rules Tracker
Every state law and MLS rule on AI-edited and virtually staged listing photos: what to disclose, when it applies and the penalties.
