A thick mass of ‘radiation fog’ has spread across the Southeast, creating hazardous travel situations for as many as five million individuals.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a thick fog warning covering 78 counties in Georgia, South Carolina, andFloridaon Friday morning, a warning was issued regarding extremely poor visibility on the roads.
Although this type of fog is not connected to nuclear radiation and typically does not pose a risk to human health, authorities have previously cautioned that thick, ground-level fog can affect air quality by holding local pollutants near the surface.
Hazardous alerts particularly affect drivers across the area, as Americans will not be able to see more than a quarter-mile ahead of them during the morning time.
Previously, the risks of these issues were sadly highlighted onJanuary 6, 2024, when a major collision occurred on Interstate 5 in Kern County,California, involved almost 40 vehicles, including 18 semi-trailers, resulting in two fatalities and nine people injured.
Weather experts observed that areas in central, eastern, and southeastern Georgia, central and southeastern South Carolina, and certain regions of the northern Florida Panhandle are mostly affected by fog.
“If you are driving, reduce your speed, turn on your headlights, and maintain a safe distance in front of you,” stated the NWS officials in their alert.
Many of the dense fog warnings on land will remain active until at least 10am ET this morning, indicating that the heavy fog is expected to begin clearing as the sun rises and heats the surface.
Some coastal and marine regions have extended warnings that remain in effect until 1pm on Friday, such as the waters near the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina, Charleston Harbor, and certain bays along the Florida Panhandle.
Prominent cities facing this dense fog are Augusta and Macon in Georgia, along with Columbia and Charleston in South Carolina.
Satellite photos from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) showed thick fog developing across the entire Southeast region on Friday morning, covering areas in Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
NWS has not released any warnings regarding radiation fog in these states, although it issued flood advisories in Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee because of a ‘moist air mass combined with a slow-moving surface front’ passing through the area.
Thick mist such as this typically develops during the night and remains into the early hours because of various atmospheric conditions.
In this scenario, recent rainfall or elevated humidity in the Southeast has resulted in additional moisture present in the atmosphere. During the night, with clear skies and gentle winds, the earth cools quickly following sunset, radiating heat back into the air and forming thick, ground-level fog.
Prior to the dense fog dissipating during the day, harmful particles from factories and vehicle emissions can remain above urban areas for extended periods, causing individuals within the fog to inhale clouds of dust and chemicals that may worsen breathing conditions such as asthma.
Some people from Georgia have stated on social media that the thick fog this week has emitted an odor resembling chemicals and other dangerous materials while they were walking or driving through the mist.
“We’ve experienced cloudy mornings for the past week in Northeast Georgia. And it’s not typical fog, it has a smell of burning plastic and leaves a residue on our car windows,” another person stated on Thursday.
That X user also urged Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr to examine the unusual particles found in Georgia’s mist.
Radiation fog is frequently observed in the southeastern United States, as it occurs when the ground rapidly cools during the night under clear skies and minimal wind, causing moisture in the humid air to condense into dense fog near the ground.
Radiation fog is commonly observed in the autumn and winter seasons, when extended nights lead to greater cooling, lower temperatures that enable air to become saturated more quickly, and abundant moisture from seasonal storms.
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