Freezing fog

Matt82

Matt82

Matt82

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Joined
13 Mar 2004
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Can anyone explain freezing fog for me? you hear it mentioned on the news and weather but what on earth is it?

Fog hangs in the air, condensation, like a cloud on the ground. If you freeze it, id expect the solidified lumps to fall out the sky, ie like snow, or does the fog patch go solid?

ive absolutely no idea, surely im not the only one?? :D
 
I thought it was fog that was subcooled past its saturation temperature and pressure which may cause instantaneous freezing of susceptible fluids.

Could be wrong.
 
Suppose it is foggy outside and the temperature is 30 F. Fog tends to not produce measurable precipitation by itself but it can still wet and moisten objects. In the case of freezing fog, the fog cloud droplets are supercooled. When a droplet contacts an object below freezing it will turn to ice. When only freezing fog occurs, there will be just about as much freezing of the fog droplets onto surfaces as there will be sublimation from the surface, thus there is not much accumulation of ice. Often freezing fog will be accompanied with freezing drizzle. In that case, a film of ice will coat surfaces.

Ice fog is a fog composed of tiny ice crystals. In the ice fog situation the temperature is becoming too cold for only supercooled water to occur. Ice fog will only be witnessed in cold Arctic / Polar air. Generally the temperature will be 14 F or colder in order for ice fog to occur
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Sauce

Ive read descriptions, im still no wiser :D
 
Fog that turns to ice when it hits something. I've driven through it before in a cold car, you get ice forming on the windscreen as you pass through the fog.
 
Conscript said:
Fog that turns to ice when it hits something. I've driven through it before in a cold car, you get ice forming on the windscreen as you pass through the fog.
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This; hadn't experienced it until a few weeks ago, quite odd really, was in a friends car (without a heated screen) and small amounts of ice just start appearing on the windsceen when driving through heavy fog, easily wipered off but very strange feeling. Glad I have a heated screen :)
 
I had this with rain a few weeks ago. Great fun at 70mph to suddenly be unable to see anything. Didn't clear very easily either.
 
Conscript said:
Fog that turns to ice when it hits something. I've driven through it before in a cold car, you get ice forming on the windscreen as you pass through the fog.
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This, although if your heaters are on full blast your scree should be ok. If you have an aeiral on your car it can turn into a big elongated lump of ice same goes for any bumper openings. I think it's called rine.

Wikipedia freezing fog.
 
I've only experienced proper freezing fog once in my entire driving life (circa 15 years). It was in 1999 near Warminster. You knew it was freezing fog because it was damn foggy, like literally driving through a cloud. You could barely see anything. So why was it freezing? Because, my aerial, which was mounted to the front wing, had horizontal icicles coming off of it, around about 3 to 6 inches long. Basically, the fog was clinging to the car and freezing on it. The wings, roof and boot were all covered in sheet ice and the door wouldn't open easily.
Looked epic
 
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Was some nice freezing fog on my way out this morning, tiny ice crystals floating in the air glistening in the headlights, looked very pretty.

Plus of course you get the heavy frost covering on everything that looks almost like snow.
 
you know its happening when the air looks like it has glitter in it and your windscreen gets frosted up just from driving.
 
Did this on the way home, foggy and -6.5c according to the car.

I drove 50miles in freezing fog once and the forward facing side of my mirrors and aerial were frozen and white
 
Had freezing fog here, all the trees, bushes & fences around work look like they have grown loads of white fur as ice has formed allover them.
 
Ive seen it bad once.

On the m8 in my dads car years ago in fog... its wasnt thaaat foggy, but all of a sudden the windscreen became a sheet of ice. He couldnt see anything, none of us could.

Ended up safely on the hard shoulder, along with about 10 or so more cars with the same issue. Didnt use the screen wash or anything, just happened. Never seen it since, but really sticks in my mind.
 
Iamzod said:
Had freezing fog here, all the trees, bushes & fences around work look like they have grown loads of white fur as ice has formed allover them.
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That's just frost surely? Unless it happens to be foggy when the air temperature is zero? I but that's just cold and foggy surely?
 
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