PHYSICAL AND CLIMATIC SETTIJfG 53 



at Buffalo and is progressively later toward the east 

 until it occurs between twelve and one o'clock at 

 night in the lower Hudson Valley region. The 

 topographic hollow in the Finger Lakes region ia 

 most subject to secondary local storms. 



The proportion of cloudiness which is the obverse 

 of clear weather varies as a mean over the State from 

 a little less than 50 per cent to over 65 per cent. 

 The higher proportion of cloudiness is not directly 

 associated with the precipitation. Southeastern 

 Few York has the largest amount of clear weather 

 since the moisture-ladened winds from the ocean tend 

 to drift eastward. The winter is more cloudy than 

 the summer, especially in the Great Lakes region 

 where the range is from 80 or 85 per cent in De- 

 cember and January to about 45 per cent in July and 

 August. 



The relative humidity is another factor in the 

 weather, of considerable importance both to crop 

 production and personal comfort. High humidity 

 not only makes extremes of temperature more un- 

 pleasant but it promotes the growth of fungous organ- 

 isms, including many disease-producing forms. The 

 annual humidity at different points ranges from 70 

 to 79 per cent in the lowland areas, to 60 in the 

 upland regions. It is highest in the vicinity of Buf- 

 falo and New York City. In general it is higher in 

 winter than in summer. 



Sleet storms are most common a little way in- 

 land from the shore of the Great Lakes. Hail is 

 most common in the Central Lakes region and on the 



