The June Blues: Foggy Days and the Mind Numbs

Even though it’s summertime, for some residents of Southern California’s coastal communities it might as well be winter.

The weather is chilly, gray and downright depressing. Some days, the view of swirling fog, rather than looking like a Coppertone commercial, looks more like a Pittsburgh blizzard.

While other parts of the country may have four seasons, the coast has only two: sunny and foggy. And trying to predict which will occur on any given day is fruitless.

Natives may roll with the seasonal punches, but visitors tend to be shocked by dreary June, when coastal fog seems to drag on and on. And as fog lingers, so sometimes does ill humor.

“I definitely notice a difference,” said Richard Gill, supervisor of sports and aquatics for the City of Santa Monica. “People start complaining about the weather, and they seem to complain about everything else too.”

For some, a foggy view can be an incentive to stay home. “If it’s not sunshiny, some of our people just don’t come out,” said Kathy Kucharski, director of Santa Monica’s Senior Recreation Center, noting her normal crowd of 65 to 70 seniors drops to about 40 on overcast days.

Some of the hermits may be depressed. Scientists believe the lack of light inhibits production of brain chemicals and can cause a biologically induced depression called Seasonal Affective Disorder, which is quite common in locales where winters are long and dark--places far from the Equator.

But UCLA psychiatry professor Dr. Robert Gerner, who also works with the Center for Mood Disorders in West Los Angeles, noted that Los Angeles fog, rolling in at 3 p.m. for several days in a row, could fool the brain into thinking it is becoming winter, a time for slowing down.

“With some people, the body prepares to shut down. The sleep cycle tends to lengthen, weight gains and energy and motivation decrease,” Gerner said. Part of the treatment is exposing patients to intense light.

The National Weather Service reports that for more than 40 days a year, Los Angeles experiences heavy fog. And that doesn’t count the 108 days a year, when, in weather bureau lingo, “the sky is 10-tenths overcast.”

But fog isn’t without enthusiasts. “I can’t stand it if it gets too warm. So I love fog,” said Art Lessard, the meteorologist who heads the National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office.

Malibu novelist Brian Moore, who grew up accustomed to Irish fog, is another fan of coastal weather. “I work well in fog. For one thing, it keeps me home,” he said.

At the Ventana Inn in Big Sur, a lovers’ hideaway, visitors are of a mindset not generally noted for rationality. They also love fog. “Perhaps our guests like the fog because of our crackling fires and outdoor hot tubs. It is romantic to immerse yourself up to your chin in 104-degree water and have fog drifting around,” said general manager Robert Bussinger.

In real life, however, there are practical problems. Heavy fog causes more automobile crashes, and Lt. Karl Bohn, a Los Angeles County ocean lifeguard, noted there are more boating accidents as well. And there is sunburn. “When it’s overcast, people don’t realize they can get sunburned. We see some pretty severe burns,” he added.

Cloudy skies can be bad for business. On sunny days, Francesca De Fillipo, manager of Hotdog on a Stick at Santa Monica’s Muscle Beach, remains open until 8 p.m. On foggy days, when sales sometimes drop by the hundreds, she may close as early as 5:30.

Two Sides of the Coin

There is, however, a flip side to misfortune. “I’d rather have the sun, but it is exciting to be able to close early and go play bingo,” she said with enthusiasm.

Researching fog might be enough to depress some environmental scientists. Mike Hoffman, a Caltech professor of environmental engineering science, found highly acidic solutions similar to battery acid in L.A.’s coastal fog. This acid fog, he believes, is a byproduct of power plants and oil refineries, and fog droplets deposited on trees and other vegetation have caused forest dieback.

What L.A. needs, Hoffman said, is more cattle and chicken farms. “The livestock produces ammonia, which, when released, neutralizes the acid,” he explained.

At UC Davis, Jim Seiber, professor of environmental toxicology, has been studying the Tule fog in California’s Central Valley. In a joint effort with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Seiber detected pesticides in fog water. “At this time we don’t think this is a health hazard, but we have to be aware that fog is a way of transferring chemicals from one place to another,” Seiber said.

Fog is moisture caused by condensation. In the summer, fog forms offshore and is carried by the sea breeze. In the winter, dense fog comes following a particularly wet storm, when damp air is trapped in low places or valleys.

And how can you tell if it’s fog? As meteorologist Lessard says, “If it’s on the ground, it’s fog. If it’s off the ground, it’s a cloud.”

Is it foggy today?

Frankly, Santa Monica resident Gail Tapley, who spent most of her life in Chicago and Minneapolis, didn’t notice. A survivor of blizzards, sleet, ice storms, heat, humidity and mosquitoes, Tapley is taken aback when people grouse about fog.

“Californians are crazy,” she shrugs with incredulity. “They’re always complaining about the weather!”