California, 2015

Dense Fog in California, December 8, 2015

December 8, 2015 · NWS STO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Light winds and wet ground allowed fog to develop overnight and in the early morning.

The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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 STO wrote it up.

Light winds and wet ground allowed fog to develop overnight and in the early morning.

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 Sacramento, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 7, 9:30 PM PST, 4 hours 58 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 7, 9:30 PM PST, 4 hours 58 minutes before
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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Dec 8, 2:18 AM PST, 10 minutes before
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Event by event

1 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.

Dense Fog, Southern Sacramento Valley

When
December 8, 2:28 AM PST to 9:00 AM PST
Where
Southern Sacramento Valley forecast zone
Deaths
0 direct, 1 indirect
Reported by
Broadcast Media

Around 5:20 a.m., 42-year-old male crossed Power Inn Road at Florin Road against the light and was struck by a northbound vehicle that had a green light, according to the CHP. Poor visibility from fog is believed to have been a factor. Speed and alcohol reportedly did not contribute to the crash.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Dense Fog, Southern Sacramento Valley2015-12-0842MaleOutside/Open AreasIndirect

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 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 2015

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: 603757.