Mist and fog...

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Aarroonnn

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Aaron
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This may sound either stupid or an interesting question, but think of that whole creepy setting of the woods and fog and mist (think of sleepy hollow it if helps). Is there like a certain time of year? or places? that this kind of happens...


Example;
http://en.fotolia.com/id/5238669
 
Aarroonnn said:
This may sound either stupid or an interesting question, but think of that whole creepy setting of the woods and fog and mist (think of sleepy hollow it if helps). Is there like a certain time of year? or places? that this kind of happens...


Example;
http://en.fotolia.com/id/5238669
Click to expand...
Just a case of waiting for the weather to play ball I think, not really something you can predict as such.

I would have though it more likely toward the end of the year when the atmosphere is a little colder and there is more moisture around.

I took this one on a local nature reserve in September last year:

FleetPond_0013_print1.jpg
 
Ahh that photograph is like the opitimy of what i want. I wont be starting doing it till around.. November time as im planning on doing an addigned project for college. I think around October and November it should be good?
 
Just keep an eye on the weather forecasts the night before for heavy overnight fog and go from there.

I was over there from around half five that morning as the fog can look very different depending on how much light there is around, so wanted to see all stages of it to make sure I got it looking how I wanted it to.

Of course, this was a little easier given the reserve is only a ten minute walk away from my house, but it requires a little planning and effort to get some shots, particularly when you want the weather to play ball too!
 
Yeh i know how annoying weather can be, the past few nights ive stayed up till 6am waiting for the sun to rise.. yet no sun rises... lol
 
Ooooo, a thread for me to get my teeth into.

Fog and mist does come in many different flavours and types.

There's sea fog. The type rolls in from the sea to affect coastal areas. For that, the sea surface has to be warm and then as the moist damp air above it then move inland onto cold land and the lot condenses. Usually occurs in late winter and spring time when the sea is warmer than land. As the name implies, it will only affect coastal areas as the fog tends to "burn" out as it digs deeper into the drier and warmer landmass.
"Haar" and "Fret" are names given to this type of fog that always plague the eastern side of England and Scotland.

Then there's frontal fog. Proper term being "advection fog". Always associated with warm fronts. That has the effect of lowering the cloud base to such an extent that it covers high ground to become hill fog and can even lower further still to cover the ground at sea level. Can occur at any time of the year but most often in the winter months at the end of a cold snap.

Then there's my favourite type of fog, those low lying foggy layers which you get to see in the countryside (and to a lesser extent, park areas in built up areas) during cold still nights. It's proper term being "radiation" fog as that's when surface heat radiates freely into the atmosphere and the rapidly cooling air very close to the ground then condenses into fog. But because that cold air is that cold, dense and still, those layers hang around undisturbed while warm air settles on top of it.
Most always spotted in known frost hollows and can occur at any time of the year but more particularly in the autumn and spring when temperature difference between night time and day time are that much greater.

Finally, there's the rare but very beautiful "Sea Smoke". That's when wisps of steam rises from ponds and rivers. For that to occur the water needs to be 7 degrees Celsius and above warmer than the air above it and is most always a winter season thing. And just like radiation fog, the weather in question needs to be calm and clear. It can occur at any time of the day but looks so much better at dawn and dusk time.

I hope that helps. It does help to have a basic understanding of meteorology if you want to pursue this thing further. Basically it's all about how much water vapour turns into steam as temperature turns colder. But humidity and dew points are also a factor. Too low and nothing happens as the air is too dry.

All of this is out of my own head and not copied from some text book. I like to think I do know my weather as I've been passionate about it since I was 8 (I'm 42 this month).
 
Ermm thankyou, that sort of helped, i quite like low lying fog... i think thats the one im kind of after. Is there anyway to like know or is there some prediction site or tv or weather thing that says oh were going to have this type of fog tonight
 
Aarroonnn said:
Ermm thankyou, that sort of helped, i quite like low lying fog... i think thats the one im kind of after. Is there anyway to like know or is there some prediction site or tv or weather thing that says oh were going to have this type of fog tonight
Click to expand...

Actually, no, as they're usually very localised affairs and doesn't warrant a mention in any forecasts so it's up to you to know the lay of the land and where's the best place to spot them. And also be prepared to be up at a very stupid-o clock time of the day as they will very quickly disappate once the sun rises above the horizon (at this time of the year, about half an hour after sunshine as the air gets heated up very quickly and the fog get burnt away).
This type of fog usually occur in a frost hollow, most often in the form of a valley or a bit of land in between hills. It doesn't have to be very steep and rolling, just as long it's in some kind of basin. That way cold air is able to collect into one point and then condense into as fog in the process.
But this kind of thing will not occur every time. It's all in the humidity and air temperatures. You'll need a clear, damp and still (with no wind at all) night and for it to get colder as heat radiates into space we go into the night, this will allow fog to form and then settle into thin layers in such a basin. If it is cloudy and dry, then forget it as nothing will happen.
I got lucky with such a fog only this morning!:

22ndJune09Mist5.jpg


And note there's a small hill in the background, it is that where cold air descends down and then finally settle into this pool of cold foggy air you see in that picture.
 
Ah ok, so basically i need early morning... 3-6am ish i reckon, and around october...november time... sound good?

That picture is veryyyyyy nice, almost silhouette esc
 
Aarroonnn said:
Ah ok, so basically i need early morning... 3-6am ish i reckon, and around october...november time... sound good?

That picture is veryyyyyy nice, almost silhouette esc
Click to expand...

:) Yep, that should do you fine. But like I said they only occur in specific places prone to that kind of thing, so you will still need to know your local frost hollows. :geek: :D
Glad you like the picture. :)
 
Ian D J said:
This type of fog usually occur in a frost hollow, most often in the form of a valley or a bit of land in between hills.
22ndJune09Mist5.jpg


And note there's a small hill in the background, it is that where cold air descends down and then finally settle into this pool of cold foggy air you see in that picture.
Click to expand...

Ian mentioned it above
 
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