June Gloom (also May Gray) is a California term for a weather pattern that results in overcast skies with mild temperatures during the late spring and early summer. The condition is prevalent in many parts of the world where a marine layer of stratus or stratocumulus clouds is common, such as the western coasts of continents—particularly off Peru, Namibia, Western Australia, and California. Such cloud systems are persistent year-round off the coast, yet in certain seasons they blow ashore and create the gloomy "May Gray" effect on land. The June Gloom phenomenon has also been known to occur during the early fall in California.
Early mornings during this period are typically foggy, with an occasional drizzle. The fog turns to low clouds by late morning and early afternoon. Finally, by late afternoon, solar heating is sufficient to evaporate the clouds. Often the overcast will be evaporated ("burned off") quickly inland, but will linger along the immediate coast.
In California, the number of days from May to June that are gloomy vary from year to year. Cooler ocean temperatures, associated with La Niña, usually foretell a more gray period.
June Gloom has been reported by some Californians to bring on symptoms consistent with seasonal affective disorder. It is often cited as a time of depression.
References
- Haag, Amanda Leigh (2005-08-09). "Cloudy With a Chance of Drizzle". NASA Earth Observatory. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/Drizzle/. Retrieved 2006-05-04.
- http://meteora.ucsd.edu/cap/gloom.html
- http://www.sandiegomagazine.com/media/San-Diego-Magazine/June-2007/In-a-Fog/
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