JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Expect slower commutes over the next few days due to fog, especially in the mornings. While fog can occur anytime, it’s common in early spring. This is due to cold ocean water condensing moisture from warmer, humid air.
In our area, we will likely get more of the fog that blanketed the coast Sunday, which formed over cooler shelf waters west of the warm Gulf Stream.
Warm moist air from the Gulf Stream drifted westward over these cooler waters, cooling and condensing into sea fog or advection fog. Northeast winds pushed fog into the Georgia coast and across Northeast Florida beaches during the afternoon and inland overnight.
Increased humidity contributes to fog formation. As the air becomes more saturated with moisture, less cooling is needed for water vapor to condense into fog droplets. This is reflected in the dew point; higher dew points mean more moisture. Fog forms when the dew point and air temperature are close.
Matching dew points and temperatures over the cold ocean created visibility of 1/4 mile or less, triggering a dense fog advisory.
Warmer inland temperatures will likely cause more advection fog. The East Coast sea breeze will push sea fog back across the I-95 corridor around sunset, leading to dense fog in interior North Florida after midnight. Many areas may not clear until mid-morning this week.