Now Fog Figures Into Fall : After Storm, Heat, Comes Coastal Pallor

First came the dazzling lightning, then the searing heat. Now comes the fog.

In the last two weeks, nature has kept the county off balance. One day, bolts of lightning are streaking across the sky and rain is pelting the region. A few days later, children are being sent home early from school to escape the heat and giant waves are pounding the beaches.

The latest weather phenomenon is a high-pressure system that is creating a troublesome fog bank along the coast. It is expected to last several more days.

Tuesday’s fog turned Judi Millan’s routine, 2-mile commute into an adventure in travel. She became disoriented in the mist on the route she has driven for years, uncertain of where to turn or how far she was from the San Clemente police station, where she is a records clerk.

“It was about the foggiest I’ve ever seen,” Millan said. “I kept trying to make these wrong turns. I thought, ‘How strange, I can’t find my way.’ ”

Most pilots of small aircraft at John Wayne Airport chose to stay safely on the ground rather than fly blind through the clammy fog. Many small planes lack navigational instruments needed to fly safely in heavy fog, so only about a dozen small planes took off or landed at John Wayne--far fewer than on a normal morning.

The poor visibility had little impact on commercial jets. Just two such flights were delayed, and just briefly, said Joe Fowler, FAA tower manager at John Wayne. Those planes were bound for Los Angeles International Airport, which was restricted for landing.

Officials said South County was hit the hardest by fog, which began billowing ashore shortly after midnight and hung on till noon. The fog did not cause traffic accidents, even though many commuters failed to slow down through the opaque patches, the California Highway Patrol said.

“They never slow down,” CHP officer Angel Johnson said about motorists. “They were whizzing right past me.”

The weather system causing the fog should move out of the area by the end of the week, said Steve Burback, a meteorologist for WeatherData, which provides forecasts for The Times. “We should have sunny skies by then.”

The fog, 500 to 1,000 feet thick, was created by a high-pressure system in the upper atmosphere, brought over the coast by a shift in the powerful jet stream, said Rick Dittman, another meteorologist for WeatherData.

Warm air moving east from the tropics hit the relatively cold water near the shore and condensed. The high-pressure system kept the moisture from rising and dissipating and “sort of squashed it down on the shore,” Dittman said.

Lobster fisherman Dan Cludy will welcome a change in weather. Cludy decided not to take his boat out of Dana Point Harbor on Tuesday because of the poor visibility. Instead of checking his 200 traps, he worked on his boat in the safe confines of the harbor.

“It was way too soupy out there,” Cludy said, adding that visibility was about 10 feet at 6 a.m.

“I don’t go out (in fog) unless I have to,” he said.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Stephen Ahn said high temperatures Tuesday in Orange County hit 88 in Anaheim, 84 in Santa Ana, 86 in El Toro and 83 in San Juan Capistrano.

Today’s highs are expected to be in the upper 60s near the beaches and near 80 inland. The lows overnight are expected to be in the 50s to middle 60s.

Times staff writer Jeffrey A. Perlman contributed to this report.

Whence the Fog? There was the perfect mix of ingredients Tuesday morning to produce thick fog in the county. The marine layer of low clouds and fog that sits along the county’s coast is normally 2,000 to 4,000 feet thick. On Tuesday, a high pressure system forced the air to sink, and this sinking motion “squashed” the marine layer to 500 to 1,000 feet thick. A compressed cloud layer becomes denser, creating fog. Visibility ranged from near zero in the coastal areas to one-quarter of a mile in Santa Ana.

Fog Driving Tips

1. Drive with lights on low beam. It is illegal to drive with just your parking or fog lights.

2. Reduce your speed.

3. Avoid crossing traffic unless absolutely necessary.

4. Listen for traffic you cannot see.

5. Use wipers and defroster.

6. Don’t pass lines of traffic.

7. Unless absolutely necessary, don’t stop on any freeway or other heavily traveled road.

8. If your car stalls or is disabled, move away from the vehicle to avoid injury.

9. Consider postping your trip until fog clears.

Source: WeatherData

Researched by Kathie Bozanich/Los Angeles Times