© George Anderson
Harefield, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Latitude: 51° 35' 6'' N
Longitude: 0° 29' 8'' W
03 November 2016 0740 (Local Time)
Camera direction: towards E
Image P/S code: P.11.1.1.5.1
Image I.D.: 5187
Evaporation fog is formed when cold, stable air moves over a much warmer body of water. Evaporation from the relatively warm water saturates the cold air above and water vapour condenses in the cold air, producing “steam fog”.
This picture shows steam fog, formed over the Grand Union Canal at Harefield in southern England, UK. The air temperature over the surrounding countryside fell by the end of the night to around, or just above, 0 °C. There was mist in some places, but in general radiation fog did not form over fields. However, the evaporation from water surfaces such as streams, rivers and, in this case, canals provided the very localized saturation necessary to form fog.
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High pressure covered southern England, UK.
The 0000 UTC upper-air sounding from Herstmonceux in south-east England, UK shows a nocturnal cooling inversion near the surface. Above the surface, the air in the lower atmosphere was relatively dry.
As the early morning Sun warmed wet soil, evaporation saturated the cold air immediately above the ground. Water vapour condensed in the cold air, producing this shallow “steam fog”.
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Evaporation fog is formed when cold, stable air moves over a much warmer body of water. Evaporation from the relatively warm water saturates the cold air above. Water vapour then condenses in the cold air, producing “steam fog”.
This picture shows evaporation fog, or steam fog, formed over the water of the Grand Union Canal at Harefield in southern England, UK. The air temperature over the surrounding countryside fell by the end of the night to around, or just above, 0 °C. There was mist in some places, but in general radiation fog did not form over fields. However, the evaporation from water surfaces such as streams, rivers and, in this case, canals provided the very localized saturation necessary to form fog.
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A steam devil rises above evaporation fog over a small river.
A steam devil is a small, gently whirling column of saturated air of varying height, with a small diameter and approximately vertical axis, that forms when cold air is over a relatively much warmer body of water or saturated surface. Steam devils are typically seen in association with evaporation fog (steam fog or Arctic sea smoke). They are typically about 1 m in diameter and several metres high.
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In this picture, several steam devil vortices are seen at 1, 2, 3 and 4 rising from evaporation fog over a small river. Steam devils are small, gently whirling columns of saturated air of varying height, with a small diameter and approximately vertical axis, that form when cold air is over a relatively much warmer body of water or saturated surface. Steam devils are typically seen in association with evaporation fog (steam fog or Arctic sea smoke). The vortices are about 1 m in diameter and several metres high.
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This steam devil appears as a vortex rising above steam fog, or Arctic sea smoke, that formed off the north-west coast of Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick, Canada.
Steam devils are small, gently whirling columns of saturated air of varying height, with a small diameter and approximately vertical axis, that form when cold air is over a relatively much warmer body of water or saturated surface. In this case, the air temperature was around -14 °C, while the water temperature of the Bay of Fundy was approximately 8 °C.
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A very cold, Arctic air mass was present over the unfrozen and relatively warmer water of Saint John Harbour in New Brunswick, Canada. Arctic sea smoke, or steam fog, formed over the water and drifted south-east on a light north-westerly wind.
Sea smoke is a type of evaporation fog formed when cold stable air moves over a much warmer body of water. Evaporation from the relatively warm water saturates the cold air above and the water vapour condenses, producing steam fog, or sea smoke.
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A very cold Arctic air mass (-20 °C) was present over the unfrozen waters of the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada. In comparison, the sea was relatively warm, with a difference of around 30 °C between the sea surface temperature and the air temperature at 2 m. Steam fog, or Arctic sea smoke, formed over the water and drifted south-east on a light north-westerly wind. Snow showers occurred to the lee of the bay, over Nova Scotia (beyond the background Cumulus clouds).
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This photograph shows steam fog, or Arctic sea smoke, over the waters of the Bay of Fundy between mainland New Brunswick and Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick, Canada. This is an evaporation fog, caused when cold air moves over a much warmer body of water. In this particular example, the air temperature was around –16 °C, while the sea surface temperature was about 8 °C. Evaporation from the relatively warm water saturated the cold air above and water vapour condensed in the cold air, producing the steam fog, or sea smoke. Cumulus clouds also formed above as a result of thermal instability in the boundary layer.
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