This might not come as any shock to you, but Cleveland, Ohio is one of the cloudiest, gloomiest cities in the United States during the winter months.
As you stare out at yet another lake-effect snowfall, enduring the bitter cold and wondering if you'll ever see the grass or sky again, maybe it will bring just a little bit of solace knowing it's not just you.
Maybe.
Cleveland Is Scientifically One of the Cloudiest Cities in the U.S. in the Winter
Based on the percentage of sunlight experienced each day during the winter, Cleveland, Ohio is statistically one of the most depressing cities in which to spend the winter. January is an especially brutal stretch for Clevelanders, and we are right on the heels of the third-cloudiest January in the past 70 years, as nearly 84% of the month saw cloud cover.
What's perhaps most concerning is that January appears to be getting gloomier each and every year. The three cloudiest Januaries since 1951 have now all taken place in the past five years, and 2023 was the darkest January of all.
While I can recall having seen the sun at least a couple times this January, I do wonder if we're looking at another record-setting cloudy start to the year.
As you might expect, the average sunshine in general for January is just brutally low in Northeast Ohio. With just three clear days on average during the month, Cleveland joins the ranks of cities like Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Portland, Seattle, and Grand Rapids as some of the worst places to live in January if seeing the sun at all is your thing.
So maybe it helps knowing that it's not just all in your head. Cleveland really is a brutally cold and dark place to be in the dead of winter (it's not just January, either - Cleveland is cloudy about 76% of the winter overall). Maybe that only makes things worse for you now knowing what's in store for you every year.
All the more reason to escape to Arizona for spring training, right?