It’s funny how perfectly timed today’s Sunday Story is. I was just checking out all the forecast date, to make sure the forecast is on track, when I noticed a heightened risk for fog tonight. With temps in the mid 20s, we could certainly be looking at some freezing fog around the plateau for our Monday morning. Be careful if you’re out and about. I’ll try to think to send a reminder message later today.
With that being said, this week’s article was about freezing fog and defining what it is. I hope you enjoy! You all have a great Sunday.
Freezing Fog
Freezing fog is a type of weather we don’t have to deal with that often on the Cumberland Plateau. We certainly have our share of foggy mornings, but most of the time the fog is patchy and not very bothersome.
However, if fog develops while temperatures are at or below freezing it can become quite dangerous. It is especially dangerous if that fog becomes dense and widespread. Fog that develops in sub-freezing temperatures is called freezing fog.
The term freezing fog may conjure up images of whole clouds of fog frozen across the landscape. That would certainly be a dramatic sight! Instead, it’s the tiny droplets of water that make up the fog that we have to worry about freezing.
Fog is made up of billions and trillions of tiny water droplets. If temperatures are above freezing the water droplets condense harmlessly onto surfaces, leaving behind water droplets that leave things wet. If the temperature is at or below freezing, those tiny water droplets will freeze on contact with surfaces, creating a very thin layer of dangerous ice.
This line layer of ice becomes especially dangerous when it forms on roadways. The glaze of ice can be so thin that it is nearly invisible on asphalt surfaces. One tap of the brakes and you could be in for a wild ride!
The transparency of the ice on roadways leads to the term “black ice.” Bridges and overpasses are especially susceptible to the icing, since the cold air can get underneath those roadways, cooling them faster.
So, the next time you head out the door this winter and you notice fog across the fields, be careful on those roads if the temperature is below freezing. That black ice can make driving between the ditches a bit challenging!
Christmas Forecast
The Christmas forecast is still on track. I expect partly to mostly cloudy skies, with a slight chance for a shower or sprinkle. The high temp should be around 50 degrees. The next big storm system will move in Thursday, with more rain and a chance for storms. I’ll have a full blog update about that system in tomorrow morning’s blog.
Have a merry Christmas Eve Eve. ha
