Mist and Fog. How to know when?

[Rodreguez]

I've been looking at alot of nice atmospheric images of places like Corfe Castle, Marshwood Vale and The Somerset Levels, covered in a thick blanket of fog or mist and I really want to get some similar shots myself.

My understanding is that this kind of weather occurs most often around October and November time.

Can anyone tell me, does it happen all the time or mostly just at these times? Is there any way of knowing when this weather is going to occur in order to plan a trip? Can it be predicted, or is there a good forecasting place on the internet or in papers that might tell me when it's going to be foggy or misty near where I live?

Thanks

Rod

[dawnrogers]

Autumn is the most common time for fog/mist although last week we had misty mornings all week so you do get it in March too......as for predicting it well locally they do forecast it but I'd say if you visited in Autumn you'd some chances for taking these types of pictures

[rammy]

Fog is a low cloud whereas mist is water vapor cooled to a dew point near warm water/cold air locations. It can happen at any time of the year but is typical where the air is cold such as autumn/winter and the ground is warm or a warm front is encountered. Early mornings is also a good time for it to occur at spring/summer when the early rays of light hit the ground and start warming it up before the air, which is less dense, has had time to warm up.

Look for spring/summer times, near any water, when the night will be cold and you will get some mist in the morning. Autumn/winter will probably have more foggy days so look for cloud cover where it won't rain the next day and there is a clash with a warm/cold front.

That's all I know from my geography classes at school :-) Some weather sites may have some technical info for you.

[Rodreguez]

Fog is a low cloud whereas mist is water vapor cooled to a dew point near warm water/cold air locations. It can happen at any time of the year but is typical where the air is cold such as autumn/winter and the ground is warm or a warm front is encountered. Early mornings is also a good time for it to occur at spring/summer when the early rays of light hit the ground and start warming it up before the air, which is less dense, has had time to warm up.

Look for spring/summer times, near any water, when the night will be cold and you will get some mist in the morning. Autumn/winter will probably have more foggy days so look for cloud cover where it won't rain the next day and there is a clash with a warm/cold front.

That's all I know from my geography classes at school :-) Some weather sites may have some technical info for you.


Thanks that's wicked. Do you know if there any good internet forcasts that tell you about mist?

[rammy]

Where are you you? I'm in the UK and we have an agency called the "Met Office". Met = Meteorological. You can try our Met Office website which does international weather forecasts or the World Weather site. Try searching for the agencies local to your country.

UK Met Office: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/

World Weather site: http://www.worldweather.org/

[Rodreguez]

Yep, I'm in Dorst. Thaks mate :)

[rammy]

haha, cool, I can see where you are from now :-) Check out sea fog, there should be loads happening around Bouremouth when certain weather fronts clash.

[Rodreguez]

haha, cool, I can see where you are from now :-) Check out sea fog, there should be loads happening around Bouremouth when certain weather fronts clash.
Hhhm so it's about weather fronts clashing, eh? Warm land, cold air, or vice versa.

[rammy]

It's actually when the humidity reaches 100% and water vapor starts to form in the air. Extremes such as cold morning in a warm season or cold/warm borders expedite the occurrence. Check out "humidity" and "dew-point" in google if you want to learn how it happens.

[Rodreguez]

Excellent, I'll do that. I'm most concerned with when it happens rather than how, to be honest, as stuff like that tends to make my brain overheat a little. I'll see if I can get my head round it though.

Thanks again