Dense Fog — Southwest Deserts, Arizona

2011-12-14 · Southwest Deserts, Arizona

Event narrative

Clearing skies and wet ground in the wake of a departing Pacific low pressure system led to the development of widespread dense fog over the western Arizona deserts during the morning hours on December 14th. A number of trained weather spotters reported dense fog with visibility at or below one quarter mile. A spotter one mile west of Tacna reported dense fog with visibility down to 100 yards at 954 am. Dense fog was also reported by the Parker Sheriff's Office; they indicated that dense fog in Vicksburg Junction lowered visibility below 10 feet at 330 am. Fortunately, no significant accidents or injuries were reported due to the low visibilities and potentially dangerous driving conditions.

Wider weather episode

Clearing skies and wet grounds in the wake of a departing Pacific low pressure system led to the development of dense fog across the western Arizona deserts during the morning hours on December 15th. Many locations along the lower Colorado river valley and across the southwest Arizona deserts observed dense fog which lowered visibilities to near zero miles, beginning during the early morning hours. By noon, the fog had mostly dissipated.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 353250. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.