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Associated PressA meteorologist says Florida should be called the Partly Cloudy State because five other states see more sun.
FORT LAUDERDALE - The license plates proclaim Florida the Sunshine State, but the National Weather Service says five other states catch more rays.
Arizona is No. 1, followed by California, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas, according to the weather service, which monitors about 265 weather stations nationwide.
"We ought to call ourselves the Partly Cloudy State instead of the Sunshine State," Miami-based meteorologist Jim Lushine said. "But it probably wouldn't get the chamber of commerce's vote."
Florida has more days during which 20 to 70 percent of the sun is blocked by clouds than anywhere else in the continental United States, weather officials said. Weather experts said warm water surrounding the state, high humidity and a long rainy season make for cloudy skies.
Apalachicola, the sunniest spot in Florida, sees an average of 128 clear sunny days per year. By comparison, Yuma, Ariz., has 242.