Fog rolls in to portions of northern Utah, will stick around through Friday
Dec 5, 2024, 5:43 PM | Updated: 8:12 pm
UDOT traffic camera on Dec. 5, 2024. (UDOT)
(UDOT)
SALT LAKE CITY — On Thursday evening, a wave of fog rolled into Utah Valley. And it’s going to stick around a while.
Areas of dense fog will result in poor visibility less than a quarter of a mile for locations near the Great Salt Lake tonight into Friday morning. The main areas of impact include I-80 between SLC and Grantsville, and areas west of I-15 along Legacy and West Davis Highways #utwx pic.twitter.com/vm6Vq4Gm4b
— NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) December 6, 2024
Just as the commute hour was starting, a bank of fog accumulated over Great Salt Lake, blanketing nearby roads. It greatly reduced visibility along Interstate 80 and State Route 201 between Magna and Tooele, as well as roads west of I-15 in portions of Davis County.
Related: UDOT offers safety tips when driving in fog
David Church with the National Weather Service said the fog is due to the inversion.
“We’ve been under inversion conditions for the last several days now. So we just got into the point where that inversion is so shallow and trapping moisture under the lake that we developed this fog bank. And now we’re just watching that fog bank roll around.”
Where in Utah is the fog?
Church said the fog isn’t everywhere. It’s hanging around large bodies of water like Great Salt Lake. And conditions can change very suddenly depending on where you are driving.
“That fog bank is going to roll back in particular areas along and west of I-15. Once you get a little bit east of it, if you’re out of it. It’s a very sharp cutoff from very clear conditions to just very poor visibility.”
How long will it be around?
According to Church, the fog will stay overnight and into Friday.
“We might see it kind of retreat back over the lake during the daytime hours, but then it’s looking like we could see this expand back in again similarly tomorrow evening,” said Church.
He urged drivers to be cautious, especially if those near Great Salt Lake.
The National Weather Service advises drivers to slow down in the fog and use low-beam headlights to help with visibility.
