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A few notes about how fog is created
Fog is essentially a stratus cloud that forms in contact with the ground. Clouds will typically form when relative humidities near 100%. In other words, when the temperatures drop to the dew point. However, often only dew forms when that is the case.
While there is not a definitely "fog will always form when..." type of answer, there are certainly some things that can make fog formation more likely.
Wet ground conditions is one. As the temperature falls to the dew point, it is more difficult for condensation to occur when the ground is already wet. So, often the result is condensation on suspended particles in the air. (Since every suspended droplet needs to have something as its nucleus).
On that note, the more nuclei that you have in the air, the more likely there is to be fog. So the "dirtier" the air, the more likely fog and clouds are. Air that is too clean would eliminate our potential for clouds and precipitation. Air that is too dirty is just unsafe to breathe. Lucky for us, we have a nice balance nearly all of the time.
I just wanted to give you a few thoughts to have the next time you drive through a patch of fog. Don't think about it too hard, you don't want to rear end the car in front of you!
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11 November 2009
at 7:22 a.m.
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sowhatnow (Anonymous) says…
Matt,
Thanks for that thoughtful and informative little tidbit about the natural world. I appreciate journalism that teaches me things.
11 November 2009
at 7:42 a.m.
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RETICENT_IRREVERENT (Anonymous) says…
Wow, I always thought it was the tequila.
11 November 2009
at 9:04 a.m.
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Irish (Irish Swearingen) says…
Thanks, I would never have thought that the fog droplets form around nuclei. Can you be more specific as to what these are?
Know I am being dense (pun intended).
11 November 2009
at 10:01 a.m.
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H_Lecter (Anonymous) says…
Labrador Fog: A type of fog that while invisible, will compel you to move to another location. Can be irritating to both the nose and eyes.
11 November 2009
at 12:32 p.m.
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brother_cumulus (Anonymous) says…
I think you forgot to mention there needs to be an almost calm wind. Kind of a big factor in fog formation.
11 November 2009
at 11:20 p.m.
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hitme (Anonymous) says…
“calm wind”, is that like a dry rain?
12 November 2009
at 11:26 p.m.
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mwmiller (Matt Miller) says…
Brother Cumulus, you are correct for radiation fog (which is what I was describing). Of course, advection fog needs wind to form.
Irish, there are a lot of particles in the air that can be a nucleus of a droplet. Some from manufacturing plants, but the majority are dust, smoke particles, salt, soot, cells from animal life, etc. Really anything that is small enough to remain suspended in the air is fair game if it is “hygroscopic”, or a water-seeking type of aerosol. Oil-based aerosols tend to repel water and are called “hygrophobic”.