BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Summer is slowly winding down, and before you know it, we'll be into September, and we'll start to experience more cloudy days.
So the question is...can you still get a sunburn even when it's cloudy? That's what we will attempt to find out in this week's Weather Academy.
Summers in Western New York mean having a lot of fun in the sun and spending a lot of time outside to make up for all that time spent inside during the colder months.
On average, Buffalo's sunniest time of year is in the summer. Each summer month averages about 60 percent of the possible bright sunshine. We even average more sunshine in June than San Diego does. In fact, we beat them by 5 points!
Now that we're entering a cloudier time of year, you may think it's not necessary to wear sunscreen. But just because it's cloudier doesn't mean that you can't get a sunburn.
As soon as the sun rises in the east, it emits ultraviolet radiation which is what causes sunburns. Clouds may block out some of that ultraviolet radiation, but they are just made of water vapor and ice crystals. Therefore, they don't completely block out all of the ultraviolet radiation. Ultraviolet rays can reach you on cloudy and cool days, and they reflect off surfaces like water, cement, sand, and snow.
So the bottom line here is to not be complacent about protecting yourself from the sun's dangerous ultraviolet radiation when it's overcast. You can still get a sunburn on a cloudy day without protection.
Got a weather question you'd like answered? E-mail me at weather@wkbw.com, and your weather question could be the subject of the next Josh's Weather Academy.
