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Following rapid population growth and urbanization in Florida, there is an increased demand for energy. The state currently gets more than 50% of its electricity from burning imported natural gas. As the future of fossil fuels is uncertain and their impact on climate has proven negative, one could expect great potential and interest in further developing the solar industry, which utilizes the most prominent of renewable energy sources in Florida. Solar energy production is dependent on the supply of clear skies and plentiful insolation. This paper seeks to explain variations in the number of clear sunny days by identifying the months with clearest (cloudiest) sky conditions during the years 1950-2009 in relation to some of the most dominant low frequency climate patterns of variability in the Northern Hemisphere. The hypergeometric distribution is used to test for significant association between the phases of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), North Atlantic Oscillation, Pacific- North American, and Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) and cloud cover in Florida. We find that ENSO and AMO significantly impact the occurrence of clear/ cloudy skies with the warm phase of ENSO associated with cloudier conditions across much of the state and the warm phase of AMO bringing clearer conditions to northern stations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After being repeatedly struck by droughts in the last few decades, water managers and stakeholders in the Southeast U.S. dread the future extremes that climate change might cause. In this study, the length of future dry periods is assessed using a sub-ensemble of downscaled CMIP5 climate models, which are proven to perform well in precipitation estimations. The length of a dry spell with a twenty-year return period is estimated for the cold and warm seasons for two time periods; 2020–2059 and 2060–2099, and considering two emission scenarios: RCP 4.5 and 8.5. The estimates are then compared with historical dry spells and differences in length and geospatial distribution analyzed. Based on the findings of this paper, little change can be expected in dry spell length during the warm season. Greater changes are to be expected in the cold season in the southern half of Florida, where dry spells are expected to be up to twenty days shorter, while dry spells in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee are predicted to be up to twenty days longer. The changes predicted by the models are positively associated with emission trajectory and future time period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]