Partly cloudy partly sunny?

As you see the terms partly cloudy or partly sunny, have you ever wondered just what they mean? (Even some meteorologists do).

Here's a look at a few terms that you might find helpful.

Cloudy is when the sky is completely covered by clouds, with no view of blue sky.

Clear is when there are NO clouds in the sky.

Those were the easy ones, now it gets a little more interesting.

Mostly cloudy in a forecast means that most of the day will be cloud-covered. When used to describe current conditions, it means more than half of the sky is covered by clouds.

Partly cloudy When used in a forecast, it means that less than 1/2 of the day will be cloudy. For current conditions, it means that less than 1/2 of the sky is covered by clouds.

Partly sunny If you read this in a forecast, it means that more than half the day will be cloudy. If it's used to describe current conditions, it means that more than 1/2 of the sky will be covered by clouds.

Mostly sunny Not as simple as it sounds, but easily understandable. If you see this term in a forecast, it means that most of the day will be sunny. Used for current conditions, it means that most of the sky is clear.

There are some even more technical definitions (defining how many 8ths of the sky are covered by clouds) used by the National Weather Service, but for everyday use, the ones I listed above should be good to go.

Looking forward to seeing more of your questions!