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February 09, 2006
Fog and frost
For several days in the past week my part of the UK has been covered by a sort of fog. I say "sort of" because it is fog in some places, mist in others and a general blanket of overcast everywhere. Cap that with temperatures hovering between -4*C and 2*C and we get some interesting effects - like freezing fog.
The frozen frost coating the trees at the top of "Fish Hill" above Broadway on the edge of the Cotswolds.
This combination of cold and fog conditions produces a lethal situation in which black ice forms on the road surface, birds are trapped by their feet freezing to the tree branches and telephone wires and the lack of visibility. It looks pretty, but it can be very dangerous to motorists and certainly is lethal to a range of small birds and animals.
Unusually this time we have seen the frozen fog only in patches, such as this one along the edge of the Cotswold escarpment and not further into the plateau. In addtion, as can be seen from the picture, the frost decorates only the trees from about two feet above the ground, suggesting that the ground's latent heat is sufficient to prevent it forming closer the ground. The temperatures have been very low (for the UK) but they have not produced snow.
The lack of snow, coupled with a lack of rain in recent months means we are facing a shortage of water as has been highlighted by several newspapers lately. Coming from one of the drier bits of Africa, I must say that I have difficulty getting my head around the fact that we have had more rain than many parts of the area I came from get in a year - yet we are facing a drought. I guess it's back to the perspective and what you are used too!
Posted by The Gray Monk at February 9, 2006 03:08 PM
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