All,
Am heading out, with a few other RMNPers, to the Southern Oregon/Northern California coast on 5/29 for a week of shooting (photos). One of the primary targets will be the Redwoods with the Rhodendron's in bloom. This is my first time to shoot in the redwoods and in researching the area it seems like the best shooting will happen if there is fog among the trees.
Does anyone know of a site I can look at to find fog forecasts for a particular area? Or what to look for on a site like Accu-Weather to try to predict it myself? On Accu-Weather, for example, I can see "Dew Point", "Wet Bulb", and "Humidity". Can these bits of info lead me to a prediction of fog? Am hoping Stan, our resident weather Guru, can chime in on this.
Thanks in advance for any ideas you may be able to provide.
I don't know of a site with fog prediction info but these two areas seem to pay off regularly with both rhodies and fog:
Damnation Creek trail just south of the Mill Creek Campground turn-off south of Crescent City.
Also try the Lady Bird Johnson grove in Prairie Creek Redwoods park. Your timing should be good for rhodie blossoms.
I was there in mid June last year and there were still quite a few rhodies blooming and fog fairly often--it was an unusually cool spring last year. I was also there once in mid May and no fog at all over 7 days!
Todd, while I already possesed the words "Marine Layer" in my vocab I think I had a different definition. Being an old military guy I thought a "Marine Layer" was an active young lady that would hang around Camp Pendleton
Fog occurs when the air mass is saturated. Humidity is a measure of how saturated the atmosphere is (at a given temperature), thus 50% is half saturated, and 100% is fully saturated. Dew point is the temperature where the atmosphere becomes saturated. So keeping an eye on expected temperatures with relation to the dew points, ie, dew point is 45 and expected overnight lows 45, fog may be possible/likely... make sense?
Of course, widespread local differences can exist versus where the local observing station is and your actual location but the general rule holds, if you expect the temperature to fall to the dew point temperature, fog likely, if not, fog not likely.
Just got a call from a friend today. He just left Lady Bird Johnson Grove and said the fog was great with fantastic light rays. No flowering Rhodies as yet so you should be there at the perfect time. He also said the Falls along the Gorge were tremendous and flowing strong.
Posted by Bill Brennan on May 21, 2009 at 12:23 AM
Will check with our son who lives in the Marina area. One of his friends is a harbor pilot. Will let you know.
If all else fails, listen for the ships' foghorns (seriously it works)
Thank you all for your help with my (our) trip to the coast.
Monte thinks I am overly worried about timing the fog (marine layer...thanks todd). He suggested we rent a fog maching so we can have fog whenever and whereever we want. He is also suggesting Nat bring some of his old disco lights for added effect in the redwoods .
It shouldn't be hard to find fog. You can expect it most mornings sometimes into the afternoon along the coast, sometimes so dense little light filters through.
I wrote an article for July/August 2003 Weatherwise www.weatherwise.org magazine and interviewed Atilla Danko, the developer of the site. He said the CMC cloud cover forecasts do not deal with thunderstorms or marine fog well. As he notes on the web page, you can look for conditions that have the potential to produce fog.
I will also be along the Oregon coast in early June, and I plan to see how the humidity forecasts work. Here in Colorado, I think you will certainly find the cloud cover forecast very accurate.
I wrote an article for July/August 2003 Weatherwise www.weatherwise.org magazine and interviewed Atilla Danko, the developer of the site. He said the CMC cloud cover forecasts do not deal with thunderstorms or marine fog well. As he notes on the web page, you can look for conditions that have the potential to produce fog.
I will also be along the Oregon coast in early June, and I plan to see how the humidity forecasts work. Here in Colorado, I think you will certainly find the cloud forecast very accurate.
Hi Jim, sorry im late to the fog party. I lived in Eureka literally on a 10 acre plot of redwoods for 3 years, working as a forecaster for the redwood coast, so i know a little bit about fog. Theres no way i can do the subject justice in this short space, but if youd like shoot me an email with specific days and i can give you a bit of a heads up. Here's just a brief couple tips: for a decent marine layer, you want onshore flow, meaning winds from the northwest/west offshore. Thats pretty common in the summer (which is why its a foggy place!) but the warmer it is inland, the more likely the onshore flow is going to be strong. These patterns tend to be somewhat persistent, unless there is a front or other change in the pattern coming in, so if you study the times/light/fog for one day, you can have a fairly good idea of what to expect the next. One good practice is to look at a satellite loop of the coast and see how far inland the fog gets, and how quickly it recedes. If you know the topography, you know the elevation it reaches so you know how deep the layer is; and generally the deeper the layer, the less likley it will 'burn off'. In the summer at Redwood NP, it can be anywhere from a few hundred feet to several thousand. If you're feeling ambitious, check out the MM5 forecasts from the Univ of WA http://www.atmos.washington.edu/mm5rt/ for northern California (12 km domain) which will show yoiu surface winds and relative humidity for the next 72 hours.
Have fun in the Redwoods, the Rhodedendron trail is probably a good place to be this time of year!
Thanks Stan for chiming in. We arrive in Portland on 5/29 then will work our way down the coast and anticipate being in the "Redwoods" from 6/3 - 6/5. Also, if you have any recommendations for trails in that area please forward.
Had no idea you lived in the Redwoods. On the day I met you, atop Mt. Handies, I thought you told me you were previously a Criminal Defense Lawyer back East. From that to a musical career then to your current gig, meteorology mixed in with your photo biz. Did not know about the stint in the Redwoods. You seem to have quite a capacity for a divese base of knowledge .
Discussion
16 repliesAm heading out, with a few other RMNPers, to the Southern Oregon/Northern California coast on 5/29 for a week of shooting (photos). One of the primary targets will be the Redwoods with the Rhodendron's in bloom. This is my first time to shoot in the redwoods and in researching the area it seems like the best shooting will happen if there is fog among the trees.
Does anyone know of a site I can look at to find fog forecasts for a particular area? Or what to look for on a site like Accu-Weather to try to predict it myself? On Accu-Weather, for example, I can see "Dew Point", "Wet Bulb", and "Humidity". Can these bits of info lead me to a prediction of fog? Am hoping Stan, our resident weather Guru, can chime in on this.
Thanks in advance for any ideas you may be able to provide.
Jim
Damnation Creek trail just south of the Mill Creek Campground turn-off south of Crescent City.
Also try the Lady Bird Johnson grove in Prairie Creek Redwoods park. Your timing should be good for rhodie blossoms.
I was there in mid June last year and there were still quite a few rhodies blooming and fog fairly often--it was an unusually cool spring last year. I was also there once in mid May and no fog at all over 7 days!
Good luck!
Todd, while I already possesed the words "Marine Layer" in my vocab I think I had a different definition. Being an old military guy I thought a "Marine Layer" was an active young lady that would hang around Camp Pendleton
Jim
Of course, widespread local differences can exist versus where the local observing station is and your actual location but the general rule holds, if you expect the temperature to fall to the dew point temperature, fog likely, if not, fog not likely.
If all else fails, listen for the ships' foghorns (seriously it works)
Bill Brennan
The Hippy-Dippy weatherman said the forecast for tonight..............Dark.
Monte thinks I am overly worried about timing the fog (marine layer...thanks todd). He suggested we rent a fog maching so we can have fog whenever and whereever we want. He is also suggesting Nat bring some of his old disco lights for added effect in the redwoods
Thanks again.
Jim
Jack
Have a good shoot!
Check out http://www.cleardarksky.com/c/MeyWomOBCOkey.html? and refer to the section on humidity.
I wrote an article for July/August 2003 Weatherwise www.weatherwise.org magazine and interviewed Atilla Danko, the developer of the site. He said the CMC cloud cover forecasts do not deal with thunderstorms or marine fog well. As he notes on the web page, you can look for conditions that have the potential to produce fog.
I will also be along the Oregon coast in early June, and I plan to see how the humidity forecasts work. Here in Colorado, I think you will certainly find the cloud cover forecast very accurate.
Bill Speaks
www.speaksimages.com
Check out http://www.cleardarksky.com/c/MeyWomOBCOkey.html? and refer to the section on humidity.
I wrote an article for July/August 2003 Weatherwise www.weatherwise.org magazine and interviewed Atilla Danko, the developer of the site. He said the CMC cloud cover forecasts do not deal with thunderstorms or marine fog well. As he notes on the web page, you can look for conditions that have the potential to produce fog.
I will also be along the Oregon coast in early June, and I plan to see how the humidity forecasts work. Here in Colorado, I think you will certainly find the cloud forecast very accurate.
Bill Speaks
www.speaksimages.com
Thanks, dudes, for your help with this. I think I am learning more about fog (Marine Layer) than I need to know!
Bill, the Cleardarksky site is really cool...still trying to totally understand it.
Thanks again to all.
Have fun in the Redwoods, the Rhodedendron trail is probably a good place to be this time of year!
Had no idea you lived in the Redwoods. On the day I met you, atop Mt. Handies, I thought you told me you were previously a Criminal Defense Lawyer back East. From that to a musical career then to your current gig, meteorology mixed in with your photo biz. Did not know about the stint in the Redwoods. You seem to have quite a capacity for a divese base of knowledge
Thanks Stan.
Jim