Freezing fog remains across portions of the high desert, clear south of Bend
Bend, Ore (KTVZ)— There is a layer of fog trapped at the surface in a good portion of the region, with light winds and high-pressure overhead; the fog is persisting and showing no signs of breaking up today. If the sunshine cracks the fog we will see the temperatures rise into the low 40s, if not, the temps will be well below forecasted levels, topping out near freezing.
The view on the left is from Henkle Butte, lower camera height has caught the rime frost on the tower and the pines in the distance. The view on the left is from Grizzly Mountain with the above view of the fog and mist shrouding portions of the high desert.
The past several days the fog has persisted in Central Oregon and the mercury in the thermometer has not moved much. The highs have been below or near freezing since Friday. If the sunshine had made its way to the surface, we would have been about 15° warmer. Friday it 34, Saturday was 30, and Sunday was 28, Monday 28 again, all due to the persistence of the mist.
We also had a good deal of rime forming on objects like tree branches and fences. This is basically soft ice that develops like frost but accumulates a bit more aggressively and feathers away from the object. Good news is that the texture does limit it from forming on roads, like an icy glaze might.
Once the mist is removed by the sunshine, we should get back to our normal pattern of sunny skies and clear nights. The chance for the foggy pattern to return tonight is on the table though as the moisture is in place.
The Air Stagnation Advisory is still in place through at least the end of day today, which means there is very little wind and no chance of scouring out any of the pollutants that get generated in the winter. Pile burns, chimney smoke and agricultural burns contribute to the deteriorated air quality.
There is little in the way of cloud cover if you could see above the mist, and if you travel to Mt. Bachelor any other resorts you will find the sun. The mist is also not pushing past south Bend, so Lava Butte, Sunriver and La Pine are bathed in sunshine.
The lack of wind is also not helping as far as the fog is concerned. The chance to mix out the mist is low and therefore our icy conditions will linger until we see some movement of the air.
Above is the view looking northwest from Pine Mountain and the fog is visible in the distance.
Please, Stay safe.
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