Can somebody explain how this theory would work.
If cloud cover were trapping daytime heat rather than releasing it to the atmosphere how does that make the daytime temps cooler.
I thought that was the whole principle behind global warming,the compounding effect of trapping heat at the Earths surface and lower atmosphere.
Clouds do two opposite things: 1) they reflect incoming sunlight, preventing energy from reaching the surface and thus cooling the surface, and 2) they absorb radiation emitted from the surface, some of which is re-radiated downward and thus warms the surface.
In daytime, the cooling process dominates (depending on cloud type), while at night (no sunlight to reflect) the warming process dominates. Net result: cooler days, warmer nights, and a lower diurnal temperature range than if therre were no clouds.