Why Have We Been All Fogged Up?
By Alex Sosnowski
Expert senior meteorologist for www.AccuWeather.com
State College, Pa. -- 21 March 2012 -- AccuWeather.com reports in the Northeast and southern New England, the perfect pattern for fog, along with the warmth, continues through the week.
While the late summer into early fall is the prime season for fog, under the right conditions, fog can be a problem in the early spring as well.
Folks in parts of the Northeast have certainly received an education on this in recent days.
According to AccuWeather.com's Chief Operating Officer Evan Myers, "The pattern is very similar to what occurs in September, in terms of the long nights, moisture and temperature."
"It's a blend of radiation and advection fog in this case," Myers added.
Radiation fog occurs when marginally moist air in place cools to its saturation point at night and is most common in the autumn.
Advection fog occurs when the cloud bank is pushed in from a particular area or it is caused by the flow of moist air over a cold surface, causing it to cool to its saturation point. Advection fog is most common in the spring and late-winter.
Backdoor fronts bearing advection fog and drizzle have spoiled many fine spring days in coastal New England and the mid-Atlantic over the years.
According to AccuWeather.com's Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams, "While water and land temperatures are running much warmer than normal this year, they are still relatively cool when compared to the unusually warm air mass like we have around the region now."
Light winds and a layer of warm air above the ground are preventing the fog from breaking up at a rapid pace during the midday hours in the current pattern.
The temperature inversion, as it is called, is also trapping pollutants near the ground.
Over the weekend, a slow-moving storm will drift to the Atlantic coast and will begin to stir the atmosphere over the region.
Until this storm passes and dry air mixes in from the west, fog problems will continue. As the storm itself affects the area with its own moisture and showers, problems with low visibility may not be limited to the late-night and early-morning hours.
Abrams quipped, "In the wake of the storm next week, once the fog is gone it won't be mist (missed)."
Image provided by AccuWeather.com
The news leader of the Twin Tiers ...
since 1947
Expert senior meteorologist for www.AccuWeather.com
State College, Pa. -- 21 March 2012 -- AccuWeather.com reports in the Northeast and southern New England, the perfect pattern for fog, along with the warmth, continues through the week.
While the late summer into early fall is the prime season for fog, under the right conditions, fog can be a problem in the early spring as well.
Folks in parts of the Northeast have certainly received an education on this in recent days.According to AccuWeather.com's Chief Operating Officer Evan Myers, "The pattern is very similar to what occurs in September, in terms of the long nights, moisture and temperature."
"It's a blend of radiation and advection fog in this case," Myers added.
Radiation fog occurs when marginally moist air in place cools to its saturation point at night and is most common in the autumn.
Advection fog occurs when the cloud bank is pushed in from a particular area or it is caused by the flow of moist air over a cold surface, causing it to cool to its saturation point. Advection fog is most common in the spring and late-winter.
Backdoor fronts bearing advection fog and drizzle have spoiled many fine spring days in coastal New England and the mid-Atlantic over the years.
According to AccuWeather.com's Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams, "While water and land temperatures are running much warmer than normal this year, they are still relatively cool when compared to the unusually warm air mass like we have around the region now."
Light winds and a layer of warm air above the ground are preventing the fog from breaking up at a rapid pace during the midday hours in the current pattern.
The temperature inversion, as it is called, is also trapping pollutants near the ground.
Over the weekend, a slow-moving storm will drift to the Atlantic coast and will begin to stir the atmosphere over the region.
Until this storm passes and dry air mixes in from the west, fog problems will continue. As the storm itself affects the area with its own moisture and showers, problems with low visibility may not be limited to the late-night and early-morning hours.
Abrams quipped, "In the wake of the storm next week, once the fog is gone it won't be mist (missed)."
Image provided by AccuWeather.com
The news leader of the Twin Tiers ...since 1947
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