Chapter 09Fog FormationLesson 30/31

Types of Fog

• Radiation Fog

• Smoke Fog (Smog)

• Advection Fog

• Thaw Fog

• Arctic Sea Smoke (Steam Fog)

• Frontal Fog

• Hill Fog

Fog/Mist/Haze

• Fog: – is composed of small water droplets in suspension (or ice

crystals in ice fog).– Visibility is reduced to less than 1000 m.– Relative humidity is generally 100%.– Plentiful supply of condensation nuclei.

Mist

• Mist:– is also caused by small droplets in suspension.– Visibility is 1000m or more.– METAR and TAF codes impose an upper limit

of 5000 m.– RH is at least 95% but less than 100%.– Plentiful supply of condensation nuclei.

Haze

• Haze:– caused by solid particles in suspension.– visiblity in haze may reduce to fog levels but

generally it is better and has an upper limit of 5000m for reporting purposes.

– airborne solid particles from industrial processes are the most frequent cause of haze as well as fires.

Radiation Fog

• Caused by long wave radiation cooling from ground at night.

• Favourable conditions are– High relative humidity– little or no cloud– light winds, 2-8 knots

Radiation Fog

• Fog dispersal caused by:– incoming insolation heating environment to above

saturation temperature, or by– turbulent mixing in the boundary layer with increasing

wind and lifting fog into low stratus or by– mixing with dry air from above.

Synoptic Conditions for Radiation Fog

• These conditions are often met in anticyclones, ridges and cols, in late autumn, winter and early spring.

• Radiation fog is usually between 300 and 1000 ft in depth.

• Cloud cover arriving early in the night will arrest the heat loss, so that the radiation fog will not develop further, and may clear.

Radiation Fog Cont.

• Suitable diversion airfields in radiation fog would be:– A high level airfield if early in the

night.– A coastal airfield with onshore wind.– An airfield in the lee of high ground,

providing there is at least 7 - 8 kt of wind.

Smoke Fog (Smog)• A form of radiation fog. • Formed when

– A marked low level inversion exists.– A source of pollution.

• The inversion traps industrial and domestic pollution in the lower atmosphere.

• Fog visibilities may be found at slightly less than 100% relative humidity.

Advection Fog

• Formed by warm moist air moving over a colder surface below dew point of the air.

• Can form over sea as well as land. • Wind strength is not material to the

formation of advection fog.

Advection Fog

• Sea Fog which has formed over the sea may drift inland, as does the HAAR on east coasts of the UK in summer.

• Depth of advection fog is typically 1,000-1,500 ft.

• A change of airmass is usually necessary for the clearance of advection fog.

Thaw Fog• Thaw fog is a particular case of

advection fog. • Warm air arriving over a snow-covered

surface will often produce widespread fog while the snow melts

• The melting snow surface (at 0°C) both cools the air and increases the moisture content as it melts and evaporates.

• It is a particular feature of central and eastern European plains in the spring.

Arctic Sea Smoke

• Also known as steam fog or frost smoke.

• Occurs when very cold air moves over a relatively warm water surface.

• The very cold air mixes with the warm air above the sea surface to a depth of about 500 feet, cooling to below dew point temperature.

• There must also be a marked inversion.

Sea smoke over Thurso(Acknowledgments to A. Moar)

Arctic Sea Smoke

• Occurs frequently in winter – over the north-west Atlantic near

Greenland or northern Canada when cold air moves over the relatively warm ocean.

– very cold Siberian air moves over the sea by the Kamchatka Peninsula off eastern Russia, and

– when cold katabatic air moves down the mountains into the fjords of Scandinavia.

Frontal Fog

• Formed by the lowering of frontal cloud to the surface (eg. at warm front passage).

• Forms ahead of a warm front by the saturation of air due to the continuous rain.

Orographic Fog/Hill Fog

• Also referred to as “cloud covering hills.”

• Formed by cloud in contact with high ground

–forming orographic stratus due to forced ascent over high ground or,

–simply high ground extending into an existing low cloud layer.

Hill Fog

• If forecast the visibility is automatically assumed to be less than 200m.

• Usually encountered in warm sectors with Tropical Maritime air.

Orographic/Upslope Fog

• Radiation Fog advecting up a slope

• If forecast the visibility is automatically assumed to be less than 200m.

• Usually encountered in warm sectors with Tropical Maritime air.

Orographic Fog

• Hill fog will clear with lifting of the cloud base or passage of the warm sector.

• Upslope fog will clear either by an increase in wind speed or by insolation