‘Super fog:’ Weather event creates zero visibility along stretch of I-95

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Visibility was reduced to zero early Thursday along a stretch of Interstate 95 in Volusia County as the combination of fog and smoke from a nearby controlled burn created a phenomenon known as super fog.

Super fog can be extremely dangerous near highways, as was the case Thursday. The foggy conditions were believed to have played a factor in a massive, deadly pileup on I-95.

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Fog typically develops on nights when skies are clear and winds are calm. As the air near the ground cools and enough moisture is present, the air will become saturated and fog will develop.

Another phenomenon that develops in this scenario is known as a temperature inversion. Temperatures typically decrease with height in our portion of the atmosphere.

On clear and calm nights, warmth generated from the afternoon radiates back into the atmosphere, creating a sliver of warm air just above the surface.

This layer of warm air acts as a lid and keeps anything near the ground trapped, unable to clear out until surface temperatures warm up.

The smoke, from a controlled burn in this case, could not disperse due to the inversion and light winds.

Patchy fog was observed elsewhere in Central Florida, but did not significantly reduce visibility on a widespread scale. The smoke likely significantly played a role in the zero visibility on I-95.

The National Weather Service later tweeted, “Unfortunately, super fog contributed to the incident on I-95 in Volusia Co early this AM. With super fog, visibility is lowered to <10ft. It has caused several large pileups, namely on I-4 near Davenport (2008) & on I-75 S of Gainesville (2012). Our thoughts are with the victims.”