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The Daily Bucket - fog [1]
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Date: 2023-12-23
December 20, 2023
Salish Sea, Pacific Northwest
You know the fog is heavy when you see this kind of announcement from Washington State Ferries:
Due to heavy fog, the 3:30 p.m. departure from Port Townsend is unable to land in Coupeville. The vessel is sailing back to Port Townsend and the route is out of service until further notice.
(Ferry disruptions due to weather are not uncommon in winter — just last month it took 40 minutes for the captain to dock at our island due to strong wind and a ripping tidal current, we weren’t sure we’d ever get home. But losing the dock altogether is rare!)
The day started out pretty foggy and unlike most days when it burns off later, this time it just got foggier. I was hearing ship foghorns out in the Strait all day.
On my middle-of-the-day walk, when I surveyed my nearby bay it was as foggy as I’ve ever seen it. The rocks offshore were ghostly, and while I could hear oystercatchers and an eagle there was no chance of seeing them.
High tide floats driftwood
A few buffies nearshore
Later in the afternoon we went out to the bay where we keep our boat, to check on our emergency anti-otter-deterrence sewing job. You couldn’t even see most of the dock…it disappeared off into the fog. Once we trekked out to the end, the seals and an otter there were surprised to see us emerge into view. At this time of year the dock mostly belongs to them.
Disappearing into the fog
Two seals lounging on the dinghy dock
A third seal cruises by
This lone otter may be the one who’d been tearing up the canvas to come inside the boat. Long story. Note all the otter poops on the dock next to the boat, not likely a coincidence.
Out on the water, birds paddled into and out of view. The air was utterly windless, very rare for winter, and the water glassy calm.
(Late that night a whisper of breeze set in. By morning the fog had lightened into a more typically foggy day, which is to say ¼ -½ mile visibility).
It was very quiet. Sound muffled, light the same in every direction, and air so damp you could taste it. Eerie, in a peaceful way.
Boat wake from outside the bay creates ripples under the dock next to ours
Horned grebe pair make their own wake
Common mergansers and reflections
Fog or no, ducks know where to go
On our way back to shore I can barely see Mr O ahead of me. The land is ghostly. From inside the fog you can’t tell land from sea.
Why such a dense fog this past week? According to KOMO Chief Meteorologist Shannon O'Donnell,
an area of high pressure is above the region keeping the usual wet weather systems out but the fog in. The high pressure acts like a "lid," holding the fog down near the ground and not allowing it to escape. “Our local topography is part of the equation, too. The Olympics and Cascades make a natural bowl for the fog to settle into, and that helps to trap the fog in place between the mountain ranges," said O'Donnell. The lack of wind is also a contributing factor keeping the fog trapped in place.
The weather has changed now. We’re back to winter mix: wind, overcast, drizzle, partly cloudy to even clear skies at times. A series of atmospheric rivers are on the way next week.
The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns. We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PURPOSE AND HISTORY OF THE DAILY BUCKET FEATURE, CHECK OUT THIS DIARY: DAILY BUCKET PHENOLOGY: 11 YEARS OF RECORDING EARTH'S VITAL SIGNS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS
Overcast in Pacific Northwest islands today. Temps in 40s.
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