California, 2012

Dense Fog in California, January 1 to 2, 2012

January 1 to 2, 2012 · NWS SGX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A very shallow marine layer created dense fog conditions along the Orange and San Deigo County coasts during the nights and early mornings of the 1st and 2nd. Several coastal airports and beaches reported less than 1/4 mile visibility for hours at a time, some even dropping below 1/8 mile.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS SGX wrote it up.

A very shallow marine layer created dense fog conditions along the Orange and San Deigo County coasts during the nights and early mornings of the 1st and 2nd. Several coastal airports and beaches reported less than 1/4 mile visibility for hours at a time, some even dropping below 1/8 mile. No aircraft accidents were reported during these times.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 31, 9:30 PM PST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 31, 9:30 PM PST, 2 hours 30 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.

Dense Fog, Orange County Coastal Areas

When
January 1, 12:00 AM PST to January 2, 11:00 AM PST
Where
Orange County Coastal Areas forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS

John Wayne Airport ASOS reported less than 1/4 mile visibility from 0153 to 0352 PST on the 1st and 1/8 mile visibility from 0553 to 0652 PST and again from 0753 to 0836 PST. The following day, John Wayne reported less than 1/4 mile visibility from 0153 to 0452 PST and 1/16 mile visibility from 0753 to 0830 PST.|Newport and Huntington Beach lifeguards reported visibilities as low as 50 to 100 yards during these times.

Dense Fog, San Diego County Coastal Areas

When
January 1, 12:00 AM PST to January 2, 11:00 AM PST
Where
San Diego County Coastal Areas forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
33.028, -116.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lindbergh Field ASOS reported 1/8 mile visibility from 0322 to 0550 PST, from 0624 to 0850 PST and again from 2025 to 2229 PST on the 1st. The following day, Carlsbad Palomar Airport ASOS reported less than 1/4 mile visibility from 2353 PST on the 1st to 0052 PST on the 2nd. During these mornings, Mission Beach lifeguards reported visibilities of 1/8 mile or less.

What these are

Dense Fog
Fog reducing visibility to a quarter mile or less, filed where it caused accidents or disruption.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in California in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in California, January 2012

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 359353, 359354.