Any fog chasers?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mike Hollingshead
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Mike Hollingshead

This forum really does need a photography section. Then again maybe weather and chasing works. I guess it would in this case since fog is weather.

Anyone in this area along the Missouri know of any good overlooks? I'm finding it sort of hard to find any high spots that are right along the river. Ponca state park might be an option, but I've never been there. I'm now scared of this option just north of me http://www.legendsofamerica.com/NB-BlackbirdHill.html All I need to hear in the dark, in the fog, well off the road....the screams of some long dead person. Sucks cause that location might be a cool one. Sounds like maybe some others near St. Joe. MikeP? Still around?

Anyway, here was a very cool outing from the other morning. http://www.extremeinstability.com/07-8-25.htm It was just damn cool to watch. I'm sure some mountain people have some very cool pictures of above fog views.

Of those that take photos and haven't given this much thought, I would...it's easy to chase and can offer some very cool views. One just needs locations, bodies of water(or a lot of corn), and cool mornings. I'd love to hear of any high spots around here if anyone knows of them. That and see some images if you have them. Umscheid has some amazing ones from yellowstone that I'm highly jealous of. I was driving around in thicker fog that other morning, as the sun was well up, looking and looking for my fogbow, but it just wasn't there.
 
Just North of Arlington, between Arlington and Fontanelle there is a country road that hugs the edge of the bluff that overlooks the Elkhorn river, in fact one can travel from the edge of that bluff all the way to Grand Island and beyond and not hit one hill, its not the tallest bluff but should be high enough to be above some river fog I guess it would just depend on the morning, the ground is private, however the bluff can be viewed from the road and most who own ground along there are not gonna care if you are just out taking some pictures. Also another great view is just South of Leshara NE, there is a bluff that overlooks the platte river, infact the bluff overlooks Valley NWS including the doppler as well as Omaha in the distance its a little taller then the one North of Arlington but its slope is also a little more gradual.
View from one area of the Bluff N of Arlington
ElkhornandFremontinDistance.jpg
 
Cool pictures! I haven't spent much time around the Bluffs, so I don't really know of any oversights. Never really thought too much about taking pictures of fog... thanks for the idea!
 
Thanks Dustin, I'd completely forgotten about looking out onto the flat areas west of Nebraska's hills. I'll have to give that a try. I wish I lived closer to the Niobrara or a mountain lake. It sucks how much of the areas in ne NE aren't high res on google earth yet. Was trying to use that earlier and not having a lot of luck up there.

No problem cstrunk, best of luck. Southwest Iowa seemed to have plenty of hills and plenty of water(course I was touring it in the flooding I guess).
 
Here are some above fog pictures. I shot these photographs last December (26-27th) from the Salève mountain just above Geneva, Switzerland. Actually the moutain top is in France, and the city of Geneva in ... Switzerland.
http://www.deanostorm.ch/recit-genevebystratus.htm
http://www.deanostorm.ch/recit-genevebystratus-2.htm
http://www.deanostorm.ch/recit-genevebystratus-3.htm
This scene is quite common during the autumn and winter months. It is called "la mer de brouillard" which means "the Sea of fog".
The glow coming out from underneath the fog is produced by the city of Geneva and the surrounding villages.
 
im not a fog chaser, but MS has some outstanding fog...i lived in a grip of states, but mississippi really has some of the best fog set-ups...

when the sun goes down, you can see the fog take on what is almost like a pileus/barriered appearence...i dont know if this is the PBL or what, but you can see a distinct boundary between the two airmasses with the fog below, and clear air on top...

when you go driving after 1AM or when the air has cooled to its dewpoint...the car sometimes sits higher or a little bit lower then the boundary, and if you go up a hill, its like your going in the clouds...

if i had a decent camera, i would have some amazing fog shots...it is soooo beatiful in the winter when you have that fog hugging the surface with a beautiful clear sunrise...im sure any other southern chasers will tell you the same thing...
 
Some amazing pictures here. We get a few days where the fog is bad here, but being in southeast Kansas you can imagine that there really isn't any high point you could get to for good pictures.
 
The Appalachians can get valley fog formations similar to what Dean posted. The city lights will shine through from underneath creating a cool 'underwater city' look. Day or night, the fog flows down the valley and looks like a big river of clouds if you can get to an elevation above this mini-inversion.

http://stormhighway.com/fogriver.shtml

http://stormscenes.com/wvc-010205a.shtml

jan1fog1.jpg


This type of fog (Appalachian river valley fog) is formed typically from late winter to early spring, when the rivers are still cold. You normally need cold river water and a borderline saturated ambient air mass above for this to happen. The cold river cools the air just in the valleys a few degrees, just enough to reach the dewpoint. It is a delicate balance - if the ambient air cools to the dewpoint, fog forms everywhere - not just in the valleys.

In the late fall and early winter, the river water is still warm, which makes the valley warmer than surrounding areas. The inverse happens then, fog forms everywhere but in the valleys.

But again, this can happen any time of year when the valleys are able to cool below the ambient air temperature and saturate. I have seen it during summer but it is more common in late winter/early spring.
 
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Dean Gill said:
http://www.deanostorm.ch/recit-genevebystratus.htm
http://www.deanostorm.ch/recit-genevebystratus-2.htm
http://www.deanostorm.ch/recit-genevebystratus-3.htm
This scene is quite common during the autumn and winter months. It is called "la mer de brouillard" which means "the Sea of fog".
The glow coming out from underneath the fog is produced by the city of Geneva and the surrounding villages.
Click to expand...

I need to second Mike's comments... Those are some of the coolest fog/stratus pictures I have ever seen! The "light through the stratus/fog" is an extremely neat effect. Absolutely gorgeous pictures. Yay for Stormtrack having some very good international / non-North American photographers.
 
During a very cold snap in the holidays of 1998 (IIRC), I pulled over while driving up the Bankhead Forest side of Monte Sano mountain here in Huntsville, around 1am. A low fog blanketed the city very uniformly, and was lit from Christmas lighting from underneath, and a full moon from above. The effect was completely otherworldly with multiple glowing colors filtering up, being gently washed out from the moon's alabaster glow.

And, of course, I had no camera, so I drove to a phone and awoke the guy who has done my band photos for years. Sadly, he declined to leave the house on a cold night and the image is just a memory, but it was a once-in-a-lifetime juxtaposition for me.
 
Mike,

Not to get off topic, but have you ever thought of chasing fires? Some of the photography that can be captured is astounding as well, and it might add to your growing collection. Check out the Hitchock Nature Center across the river and see if you can get on one of their prescribed burns to take some pictures. Very cool stuff.

Van
 
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Might have to try that. They burn the fields north of town here too it seems. This morning, while shooting the moon, someone started a fire at 5 a.m., lol. Not sure what the deal was with that, but it's where I've seen them burn the fields before. Seemed odd at 5 a.m. though.
 
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