Should sand temperature be cooler than air temperature at midday on a cloudy day?

Question

I have carried out a series out of temperature tests, and i seem to be finding that the sand temperatures are lower than the immediate air temperature above. Why is this?

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Answer 1

Either the sand was moist (evaporatively cooled) or you measured the temperature of sand below the surface.

Answer 2

it could be that the sand is a poor absorber of infrared radiation (it's pretty light coloured) and also is a good reflector of infrared radiation. therefore the radiation is trapped and cannot escape the earth's atmosphere due to the clouds and causes a rise in atmospheric temperature. this is only a theory.