Dense Fog — Merced-madera-mendota, California

2021-12-03 · Merced-madera-mendota, California

Event narrative

Visibility below a quarter mile was reported in Atwater, Merced and Madera. Several webcams showed visibility below 1000 feet. California Highway Patrol was pacing traffic on SR 99 for several hours during the morning. California Highway Patrol also reported several fog realted multiple car accidents west of Chowchilla where visibility was below 100 feet. One accidents at the intersection of SR 152 and Ave. 9 at 836 PST resulted in one fatality. Several school districts either opened late or delayed or cancelled bus service.

Wider weather episode

Little change in the upper air pattern occurred from the previous day. Clear skies, light winds and inversion conditions in the San Joaquin Valley allowed for areas of dense fog to form in Merced, Madera and Fresno Counties in the central San Joaquin Valley during the early morning hours and the fog resulted in several multi-vehicle accidents including two which had fatalities. Traffic was paced during the morning commute on SR 99 north of Madera and several school districts had delayed openings. The fog lifted into a low cloud deck by late morning and dissipated during the afternoon.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 988099. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.