The height of the fog ceiling is crucial. This is important for all sun-seekers, and also for predicting whether the fog will clear. The higher the ceiling, the lower the chances of it clearing. But other factors also play a role. Today we are devoting ourselves to diagnosing the ceiling of fog and high fog.
webcams
There are now webcams on many hills and mountains. Some provide very good images even at night. We meteorologists like to use them to assess the current cloud cover and visibility. This allows us to reliably determine the current fog ceiling in different parts of the country. It is also almost always worth taking a look at the webcam before a trip over the fog.
Trees in the Fog
The MeteoSwiss camera in Schaffhausen (570 m) was still at the fog ceiling this morning. Before it too lost its view due to the rising ceiling. Source: MeteoSwiss
View of the fog from a mountain
From the Rigi (camera at 1840 m) view of the Pilatus (left) and the Rootenberg (right). The latter just protrudes from the fog. The highest point is 840 m, the fog ceiling here is just under 800 m. Source: rigi.roundshot.com
Provide further help
weather satellites
They take pictures in the exact wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum so that clouds, among other things, are particularly clearly visible. This also makes it easy to see the extent of the spain mobile database fog or high fog in the satellite image. There is one disadvantage: if there are higher clouds, the satellite cannot see the fog underneath.
satellite image of Switzerland
Satellite image (HRV, from 36,000 km) from this morning at 9 a.m. The fog is clearly visible in the Mittelland and in Bavaria. In the Vaud Jura there are still few high cloud fields, which are difficult to distinguish in this satellite image. Source: EUMETSAT/MeteoSwiss
A combination of satellite images and model data also create your phpbb forum in 3 quick and easy steps produces a real-time data set that derives the cloud top. However, if the fog top is very low, this data should be treated with caution. This product is called “SAF cloud top height” and looks like this:
Graphic from Switzerland
Derived cloud top, numbers in the legend in meters or flight level. The be numbers high clouds in the Vaud Jura are clearly visible. With a fog top as low as today, the algorithm does not work ideally. Source: NWCSAF/EUMETSAT/MeteoSwiss
vertical profiles
At the upper limit of the fog or high fog there is always a
inversion
. This is good in the measurements of
radiosondes
Weather balloons are launched twice a day in Payerne, which measure the temperature, among other things. Certain
Airplanes measure meteorological parameters during takeoff or landing
. The upper limit of the fog is at the lower limit of the inversion.