It's always sunny in Montana! Well, not all of the time, but we do get a lot of that vitamin D.
The percentage of sunshine is a meteorological observation of the amount of possible direct sunlight that reaches the surface. This time of year can sometimes feel as if Montana is in a state of perpetual darkness, no daylight saving time, and more cloud cover. Late fall and early winter do have an increase in cloud cover, thus a decrease in the percentage of sunshine.
Sunshine does wonders, especially for people's moods this time of year. During the winter months, less sun and more time spent indoors can create vitamin D deficiencies in the body. The lack of sunshine can cause seasonal affective disorder, explaining why some people might feel a bit more down in the dumps
During the long winter months. Helena and Great Falls average around 40% possible sunshine this time of year. Northwestern Montana can be even darker. Places like the Yaak and Flathead valleys can get locked in the clouds with possible sunshine around only 20-25%. Most of Montana sees only between 3-4 hours of soft sunlight on the winter solstice in December. The total hours of sunshine in December can be as low as a grand total of only 100 for the monthly grand total.
But as you know, summers are bright and the days are long. The percentage of sunshine in July and August averages between 70 and 80 percent across most of Montana. The longer, sun-filled days of summer average about 12-13 hours of daily sunshine. The monthly total hours of sunshine in the summer are more than 350 hours.
According to the World Meteorological Organization, Yuma, Arizona, is the sunniest place on earth with a total of 11 hours of sunlight in winter and up to 13 in summer, with a grand total of over 4,000 hours of sunshine per year.
