The variations in United States cloudiness (percent of sky covered by clouds, as estimated subjectively by observers at 100 National Weather Service stations) and sunshine duration (percent of possible sunshine, as estimated objectively by sunshine recorders at these same 100 stations) are examined for years 1950–88. During this period, the correlation between annual values of cloudiness and sunshine duration within the contiguous United States was −0.86, significant at the 1% level. The years of maximum cloudiness and minimum sunshine duration were 1972 and 1982, when strong El Ninos began. The year of maximum sunshine duration was 1988, but the years of minimum cloudiness were 1952–56 (mini dust bowl); the discrepancy a result of the greater long-term increase in cloudiness than decrease in sunshine duration. In the spring of 1988 them were anomalous values of cloudiness (below average) and sunshine duration (above average) in north central, south central and southeast regions of the United States, the deviations from average approaching 10%. In the summer of 1988 these deviations were anomalous only in north central and northwest regions. Despite the low value of cloudiness in 1988, based on this analysis the United States cloudiness increased by 2.0, ± 1.3% between 1950–68 and 1970–88 (corresponding to a percentage increase of 3.5% since the average cloudiness was 58%, or 5.8 tenths, during 1950–88). The increase in cloudiness was close to 2% in all six regions of the country, and significant at the 5% level in all regions except the southeast. Most of the increase in cloudiness was in autumn, with a negligible increase in spring. The decrease in United States sunshine duration between 1950–69 and 1970–88, however, is indicated to be only −0.8 + 1.2% (corresponding to a percentage decrease of −1.2% since the average sunshine duration was 63% during 1950–88). The difference between cloudiness increase, and sunshine duration decrease is most apparent in the west and may be due in part to an increase in cirrus not thick enough to turn of the sunshine recorder. There has been a correlation of 0.79 (significant at the 1% level) between annual cloudiness and precipitation within the United States during 1950–88, but the correlation of −0.43 between annual cloudiness and surface temperature (above-average cloudiness associated with below-average temperature) is not quite significant at the 5% level. Considered is the possible relation between the 1987 El Nino and United States cloudiness and sunshine duration.