F I R S TP R E V864NEXTLAST

"The Damn Finest Fog in the World"
Those words have often been used to describe the unique San Francisco fog. In truth, due to water, winds and topography, the fog here is different than in other place in the world. Typically fog comes from warm air passing over cold surfaces, resulting in a dark damp smudge that hides the sun. In San Francisco there are two distinct air streams, one warm and the other heavy with water vapor. As the water stream condenses and drops, it combines with the tiny salt particles from the ocean spray. The result is a fog that is a thing of beauty and motion.

Our fog rolls in silently at 10 to 20 miles per hour carrying as much as million gallons of water per hour through the Golden Gate. The San Francisco fog may be either low tule fog, like that pictured above or high fog, appearing as a cloud. It also may be wet or dry. The wet fog provides the only precipitation the city sees in the summer months while the dry fog is just as dense but without any resulting droplets. San Franciscans enjoy watching the summer fog roll in during the morning and afternoon only to have it disappear in the small hours of the night, with the whole show beginning again the next morning.
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