What exactly is freezing fog? Doesn't the pressure hafta be above the triple point for that to happen? Does it mean the fog is suspended in the air and freezes? Does that mean it would really hurt if we starting sprinting outside?
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Interesting weather advisory
Weatherbug warned me of the following advisory:
What exactly is freezing fog? Doesn't the pressure hafta be above the triple point for that to happen? Does it mean the fog is suspended in the air and freezes? Does that mean it would really hurt if we starting sprinting outside?
What exactly is freezing fog? Doesn't the pressure hafta be above the triple point for that to happen? Does it mean the fog is suspended in the air and freezes? Does that mean it would really hurt if we starting sprinting outside?
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8 comments:
hahaha. We got that a few times around Portland, too, and I had the same questions (so I looked it up). It pretty much just means you're having fog in freezing temps, so the moisture will condense and leave a layer of ice on everything)...
very very odd
How amusing!!
Hey Dale, how are you? So I don't have a definition of freezing fog off the top of my head, and I've looked through 4 textbooks and none of them have it, but I believe that freezing fog is just like freezing rain in that it's basically supercooled drops (drops that are in liquid form even though the temperature is below freezing) that freeze on contact with objects at the surface and form ice on the surface of the object. So basically think of a giant liquid cloud filled with drops that are at a temperature below 32F coming at a telephone pole or something, and when the cloud passes, the pole is full of ice. I don't know if that makes sense or not.
I told Dale it sounded like something out of a horror movie and Shelley just confirmed my suspicions. Doesn't sound like something you want to be out and about in.
I too have never heard of this but here is my guess.
We've had a lot of cold/snow so the ground temp should be lower than the air.
We had rain in the warmer air making it supersaturated, which turns to fog as the air cools at night.
So now the moisture condenses onto a colder surface leaving ice.
The opposite must be early cool mornings in the spring / summer when you get a little fog just above a pond or lake that retained heat all night to supersaturate the cool air just above the water.
I like Winston's explanation of something out of a horror film better.
For everyone's info, Shelley is a real meterologist which is why I've asked her to make a cameo appearance!
Thanks Shelley
No problem :)
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