Aviation

Aviation Meteorology
Meteorology

CLOUDS,
CLOUDS, FOG
FOGAND
AND PRECIPITATION
PRECIPITATION
Fog,
Fog, mist,
mist, haze
haze

Fog - SKYbrary Aviation Safety

https://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/Fog
There are several types of fog:

Radiation Fog
Precipitation Fog
Advection Fog
Steam Fog
Upslope Fog
Valley Fog
Freezing Fog
Ice Fog
 Radiation Fog
This fog forms when all solar energy exits the earth and allows the
temperature to meet up with the dew point. 

The best condition to have radiation fog is

when it had rained the previous night.

This help to moisten up the soil and create higher dew

points. This makes it easier for the air to become
saturated and form fog. However, the winds must be
light less than 15 mph to prevent moist and dry from
mixing.
Radiation fog usually occurs in the winter, aided by clear
skies and calm conditions. The cooling of land overnight by
thermal radiation cools the air close to the surface. This
reduces the ability of the air to hold moisture, allowing
condensation and fog to occur.

Radiation fog usually dissipates soon after sunrise as the

ground warms. An exception to this can be in high elevation
areas where the Sun has little influence in heating the
surface.
 Precipitation Fog

This is fog that forms when rain is falling through

cold air. 

This is common with a warm fronts but it can occur with

cold fronts as well only if it's not moving too fast. Cold air,
dry at the surface while rain is falling through it evaporates
and causes the dew point to rise. This saturation forms fog.
 Advection Fog
This type of fog forms from surface contact of horizontal winds.
This fog can occur with windy conditions.

Warm air, moist air blows in from the south and if there is snow or
cool moisture on the ground it will come in contact with the warm,
moist winds. This contact between the air and ground will cause
the air blowing in to become cool.

Then dew point rises and creates high humidity and forms fog.
Advection fog occurs when moist, warm air passes over a
colder surface and is cooled. A common example of this is
when a warm front passes over an area with snow cover.

It is also common at sea when moist tropical air moves

over cooler waters. If the wind blows in the right
direction, then sea fog can become transported over
coastal land areas.
 Steam Fog
This type of fog is commonly seen in the Great Lakes but can be seen on any lake.

This forms during the fall season.

As summer ends, water temperatures don't cool right away but air
temperature does. As a mass of dry, cold air moves over a warmer lake the
warm lake conducts warm, moist air into the air mass above. This transport
between the lake and air evens out.

This corresponds to the zeroth-law of thermodynamics and this law

state "any two bodies that come into contact, the system will become
equilibrium state." Steam fog does not become very deep but enough
to block some of the sunlight.
 Evaporation fog

Evaporation fog is caused by cold air passing over warmer

water or moist land. It often causes freezing fog, or sometimes
frost.

When some of the relatively warm water evaporates into low air
layers, it warms the air, causing it to rise and mix with the cooler
air that has passed over the surface. The warm, moist air cools as
it mixes with the colder air, allowing condensation and fog to
occur.
Evaporation fog can be one of the most localised forms of fog. It can
happen when:

•Cold air moves over heated outdoor swimming pools or

hot tubs, where steam fog easily forms.

•Cold fronts or cool air masses move over warm seas. This
often occurs in autumn when sea temperatures are still
relatively warm after the summer, but the air is already
starting to cool.
Steam Fog, also known as Steaming
Fog, Evaporation Fog, Frost Smoke or Arctic
Sea Smoke, occurs when evaporation takes place
into cold air lying over warmer water.

It is usually quite shallow. This phenomenon is

mainly a feature of higher latitudes especially in
winter.
 Upslope Fog
This fog forms adiabatically. 

Adiabatically is the process that causes sinking air to warm and rising
air to cool. As moist winds blow toward a mountain, it up glides and
this causes the air to rise and cool. The cooling of the air from rising
causes to meet up with the dew point temperature. 

Fog forms on top of the mountains.

Upslope fog or hill fog forms when winds
blow air up a slope (called orographic uplift).
The air cools as it rises, allowing moisture in
it to condense.
 Valley Fog
Valley fog forms in the valley when the soil is moist from
previous rainfall.

As the skies clear solar energy exits earth and allow the
temperature to cool near or at the dew point. This form
deep fog, so dense it's sometimes called tule fog.
Valley fog forms where cold dense air settles into the
lower parts of a valley, condensing and forming fog. It is
often the result of a temperature inversion, with warmer
air passing above the valley. Valley fog is confined by
local topography and can last for several days in calm
conditions during the winter.
 Freezing Fog

Freezing fog occurs when the temperature falls at 32°F

(0°C) or below

This fog produces drizzle and these tiny

droplets freeze when they come into contact
with an object. But at the same time there is
sublimation going on.
 Ice Fog

This type of fog is only seen in the polar and artic regions. 

Temperatures at 14 F (-10°C) is too cold for the air to

contain super-cooled water droplets so it forms small tiny
ice crystals
 Frontal Fog and Hill Fog
Frontal fog occurs in two ways:

1. When, during the passage of a front, cloud extends down to

the surface. This is especially the case over higher ground and
may also be termed Hill Fog.

2. When the air in contact with the surface becomes saturated

by evaporation from the rain that has fallen. These conditions
may occur in the cold air ahead of a warm front.
https://www.cfinotebook.net/notebook/weather-
and-atmosphere/aviation-fog
What is the difference between mist, fog and haze?

Fog, mist and haze all affect visibility, which is an

important part of forecasts affecting many aspects
of life, from driving conditions to shipping and
aviation.

Fog and mist differ by how far you can see

through them. Fog is when you can see less
than 1,000 meters away, and if you can see
further than 1,000 metres, we call it mist.
 Fog
In our meteorological glossary fog is defined as 'obscurity in the
surface layers of the atmosphere, which is caused by a
suspension of water droplets'.
By international agreement (particularly for aviation
purposes) fog is the name given to resulting visibility
less than 1 km. However, in forecasts for the public,
this generally refers to visibility less than 180 m.
UK Met office
 Mist
Mist is defined as 'when there is such obscurity and the
associated visibility is equal to or exceeds 1000 m.' Like
fog, mist is still the result of the suspension of water
droplets, but simply at a lower density.

Mist typically is quicker to dissipate and

can rapidly disappear with even slight
winds, it's also what you see when you
can see your breath on a cold day.
 Haze

A third term you might also hear mentioned is haze. This

is a slightly different phenomenon which is a suspension
of extremely small, dry particles in the air, not water
droplets.

These particles are invisible to the naked eye, but

sufficient to give the air an opalescent appearance.
These particles can also contribute to
creating a red sky at sunrise or
sunset.
Flying in Flat Light, Brown Out
Conditions, and White Out
Conditions:
 Flat Light:
Flat light is an optical illusion, also known as "sector or partial white
out"
It is not as severe as "white out" but the condition causes
pilots to lose their depth-of-field and contrast in vision

Flat light conditions are usually accompanied by overcast

skies inhibiting any visual clues.

Such conditions can occur anywhere in the world, primarily

in snow covered areas but can occur in dust, sand, mud flats,
or on glassy water
Flat light can completely obscure features of the terrain,
creating an inability to distinguish distances and closure rates.
As a result of this reflected light, it can give pilots the illusion
that they are ascending or descending when they may actually
be flying level.
However, with good judgment and proper training and
planning, it is possible to safely operate an aircraft in flat light
conditions
Flat light conditions can lead to a white out environment quite
rapidly, and both atmospheric conditions are insidious; they
sneak up on you as your visual references slowly begin to
disappear
 Brown Out:

A brownout (or brown-out) is an in-flight visibility

restriction due to dust or sand in the air. In a
brownout, the pilot cannot see nearby objects
which provide the outside visual references
necessary to control the aircraft near the ground.
This can cause spatial disorientation and loss of
situational awareness leading to an accident
The brownout phenomenon causes accidents during helicopter
landing and take-off operations in dust, fine dirt, sand, or arid
desert terrain. Intense, blinding dust clouds stirred up by the
helicopter rotor downwash during near-ground flight causes
significant flight safety risks from aircraft and ground obstacle
collisions, and dynamic rollover due to sloped and uneven
terrain
A pilot not using the flight instruments for reference may
instinctively try to level the aircraft with respect to the false
horizon, resulting in an accident.

Helicopter rotor wash also causes sand to blow around outside

the cockpit windows, possibly leading the pilot to experience
an illusion where the helicopter appears to be turning when it
is actually in a level hover.

This can also cause the pilot to make incorrect control inputs
which can quickly lead to disaster when hovering near the
ground. In night landings, aircraft lighting can enhance the
visual illusions by illuminating the brownout cloud
 White Out:
As defined in meteorological terms, white out occurs when a
person becomes engulfed in a uniformly white glow

The glow is a result of being surrounded by blowing snow, dust,

sand, mud or water

There are no shadows, no horizon or clouds and all depth-of-

field and orientation are lost

A white out situation is severe in that there are no visual

references. Flying is not recommended in any white out situation
White out has been the cause of several aviation accidents
 Self Induced White Out:
This effect typically occurs when a helicopter takes off or lands on a snow-
covered area
The rotor down wash picks up particles and re-circulates them through the
rotor down wash
The effect can vary in intensity depending upon the amount of light on the
surface
This can happen on the sunniest, brightest day with good contrast everywhere
However, when it happens, there can be a complete loss of visual clues
If the pilot has not prepared for this immediate loss of visibility, the results can
be disastrous
Good planning does not prevent one from encountering flat light or white out
conditions
 Loss of Visual References:

•Never takeoff in a white out situation

•Realize that in flat light conditions it may be possible to
depart but not to return to that site
• During takeoff, make sure you have a reference point
• Do not lose sight of it until you have a departure
reference point in view
• Be prepared to return to the takeoff reference if the
departure reference does not come into view
So what should a pilot do when all visual
references are lost?
• Trust the cockpit instruments
• Execute a 180 degree turnaround and start
looking for outside references
• Above all - fly the aircraft
Learning of fog or potential fog can be found
on forecasts such as the 
Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF) and 
Area Forecast (FA)
Real time conditions can be found on the 
Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR)

Although fog is normally associated with weather

systems, it is also be a function of temperature,
potentially catching pilots off-guard when it
appears right before sunrise and/or right after