We live in an amazing place along the Front Range and the local weather can do some really cool things!
The picture above was taken by viewer Suzanne Dickens as she flew out of DIA early in the morning of Feb. 15. A shallow layer of cold, moist air moved into the South Platte Valley during the night and left behind a fascinating fog bank!
The cold air became “saturated” with moisture, meaning the relative humidity was 100% near the ground and this caused the fog to form. Cold air is heavier than warm air and this layer of dense, chilly air was only a few hundred feet thick.
Above the fog bank, temperatures were warmer, so the air was not saturated with moisture and – as a result - there was no fog.
This shallow pool of cold, foggy air almost looks like what one would see at a shore line with the fog being similar to a water surface. The edge of the fog bank actually ebbed and flowed, sloshing around the higher terrain on the west and south sides of the metro area.
During the morning, as the sun rose higher in the sky and temperatures began to rise, the fog bank slowly eroded and skies gradually cleared, although areas north and east of Denver stayed rather hazy and cold throughout the day.
