Gray Sky Index · Wisconsin

Madison, WI: gray days, sunny days and the best month to shoot

Madison averages 180 gray days and 185 clear or partly cloudy days a year — #9 grayest of the 43 US metros we track. July is the clearest for exterior shoots; December the grayest.

Gray days a year: 180; #9 grayest of 43 metros
Sunny days a year: 185; 89 clear, 96 partly cloudy
Clearest month: July; fewest gray days: shoot exteriors
Grayest month: December; most gray days: plan interiors

Gray days by month in Madison

Mean gray days each month at Madison, 49 years of record. The clearest months are in ink.

17 in January
15 in February
17 in March
16 in April
15 in May
13 in June
11 in July
12 in August
12 in September
14 in October
18 in November
19 in December

Shoot this week in Madison?

National Weather Service forecast: average sky cover from 9am to 5pm local time, for the next 7 days.

Interiors today, exteriors Mon, Nov 9

Today 90% sky cover, 85% chance of rain. Least gray day this week: Mon, Nov 9, 26%.

90%Tue11/3
75%Wed11/4
80%Thu11/5
58%Fri11/6
45%Sat11/7
47%Sun11/8
26%Mon11/9

Clear (35% or less)Partly cloudy (to 65%)Gray

Best time to sell a house in Madison

Share of the year’s new listings by month, 2023–2025 (Realtor.com). The three busiest months are in ink.

5.4% in January
7% in February
8.9% in March
10.5% in April
10.9% in May
11.1% in June
10.5% in July
9.7% in August
9% in September
7.9% in October
6% in November
3.2% in December

June, May, April bring 32.5% of Madison’s new listings; December the fewest. Shoot exteriors in the clearest weeks before the peak, and you list with the photos already done.

Madison scores 62/100 on the Listing Difficulty Index — #9 hardest of 43: 56 days on market and 21.3% of listings with a price cut. See every market’s score.

Nearby metros

Milwaukee, WI175 gray days a year
Chicago, IL176 gray days a year
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN169 gray days a year
Indianapolis, IN179 gray days a year

All 43 metros in the Gray Sky Index

Madison: questions

Does Madison get a lot of sun?

Madison averages 185 clear or partly cloudy days a year and 180 gray days, on NOAA’s long-term record.

What is the cloudiest month in Madison?

December has the most gray days in Madison. July has the fewest, which makes it the easiest month for exterior shoots.

When is the best time to list a house in Madison?

Most new listings in Madison come on the market in June, May, April. Listing just before the peak meets the most buyers with the least competition; plan exterior shoots for the clearest days in the weeks before.

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.

Sources: NOAA NCEI Comparative Climatic Data: mean number of clear, partly cloudy and cloudy days; US National Weather Service gridpoint forecast.