Dense Fog
Fog reducing visibility to a quarter mile or less, filed where it caused accidents or disruption. Every one the National Weather Service has filed, by year and by state, with the deadliest and costliest.
The deadliest and costliest on the map
The deadliest and costliest dense fog episodes on record.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The record
- Events
- 17,881
- Deaths
- 292
- Injuries
- 1,817
- Damage
- $53 million
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.
Every year
Deaths each year
The deadliest
Deaths from this kind of event within each episode.
- Dense Fog in Wisconsin, October 11, 2002Shallow dense fog developed over parts of Sheboygan and Ozaukee counties during the overnight hours, and persisted to about 0830CST.
- Dense Fog in Louisiana, October 23, 2023Typical radiation fog forms when the surface quickly cools at night to become nearly saturated and can become dense when conditions trap more moisture near the surface, usually in the presence of high pressure as what was observed on 10/23.
- Dense Fog in California, January 13 to 15, 2015Light winds and clear skies allowed dense morning fog to develop for several days. Numerous car accidents occurred, including two multiple car crashes with fatalities.
- Dense Fog in California, December 11, 1997Patchy dense fog was a main contributing factor in a major chain reaction collision on northbound Interstate 5 near Lambert, CA, 17 miles south of downtown Sacramento. The crash involved 8 tractor trailers, 1 tanker truck, and 28 automobiles and small trucks.
- Dense Fog in Florida, March 13, 2007A combination of smoke and fog produced a 12 vehicle accident on the Florida Turnpike resulting in five fatalities.
- Dense Fog in Florida, January 9, 2008High pressure in place across the area allowed for moist low levels and light winds overnight.
- Dense Fog in California, November 14, 2020Dense fog developed across the Sacramento and northern San Joaquin Valleys on November 14 and 15. Visibility reports were generally below a quarter mile for most reporting stations, which lead to treacherous driving conditions during the overnight and morning hours.
- Dense Fog in Missouri, March 17, 2022Dense fog along portions of Interstate 57 between the Mississippi River and Interstate 55 resulted in several fatalities (indirect) in a massive pile-up. The pile-up occurred on both sides of the interstate near Charleston, Missouri in Mississippi County.
- Dense Fog in Georgia, February 6, 2013On the morning of the 6th, surface high pressure was beginning to build into the area, with plentiful low-level moisture in place for the formation of patchy areas of very dense fog. Visibilities across central Georgia were reduced to a quarter mile or less in several areas.
- Dense Fog in California, January 14 to 15, 2024A small plane with four people onboard crashed near Moss Beach in San Mateo County, around 1 mile southwest of Half Moon Bay Airport, on January 14 at 7:34 PM. Witnesses saw the plane sputtering before the crash. Wreckage from the plane was found near Ross Cove.
- Dense Fog in Utah, February 3, 2002Dense fog caused an 11-vehicle pileup on Interstate 80 between Tooele and Grantsville. There were 3 fatalities and several injuries in an accident that involved 8 semi tractor trailers, 2 passenger cars and a pickup truck.
- Dense Fog in Virginia, March 31, 2013Dense fog near Fancy Gap helped to create the conditions for a massive pileup on southbound Interstate 77 in Carroll County. A warm front had lifted northward across the region during the early morning hours accompanied by showers.
- Dense Fog in California, February 5 to 6, 2002Dense Fog formation throughout the Central and Southern San Joaquin Valley occurred on both the mornings of the 5th and 6th.
- Dense Fog in California, November 23 to 27, 2012A weak upper-level disturbance brushed the northern fringes of the WFO Hanford warning/ forecast area on November 20th-21st.
- Dense Fog in Colorado, August 24, 2008Extremely dense fog was sited as playing a major role in the fatal crash of a single engine, fixed wing Piper aircraft.
- Dense Fog in California, December 1 to 4, 2000Dense fog with visibility near zero contributed to several deadly motor vehicle accidents. One man was killed when his vehicle drove into an overpass abutment. Another was thrown from the vehicle as it ran off the road and he drowned in the nearby lagoon.
- Dense Fog in Texas, March 27, 2011A vintage 1946 Stinson 108 airplane took off from a private airfield near County Road 142 and County Road 129 in Dickens County around 04:30 CST on the 27th.
- Dense Fog in California, November 3, 2007In the wake of the severe weather outbreak that hit the central and southern San Joaquin Valley on October 29th, there were pools of standing water in areas that received the heaviest rains.
- Dense Fog in South Dakota, January 18, 2010Dense freezing fog created very low visibilities to 1/16 of a mile along with icy roads which contributed to a multi-vehicle wreck 11 miles south of Watertown. The accident killed three people and injured two others.
- Dense Fog in Florida, February 25, 2022Moist, light south winds contributed to areas of dense fog during the pre-dawn hours.
- Dense Fog in Florida, March 3, 2022A localized superfog event occurred along Interstate 95 near Edgewater in Volusia County. Residual smoke from a nearby prescribed burn from the previous day combined with fog to create near-zero visibility conditions.
- Dense Fog in Oregon, December 16 to 17, 2023Dense Fog in the Central Willamette Valley contributed to a aircraft accident. A small plane struck power pole and power lines near Independence, Oregon and crashed just outside airport grounds, killing all three people onboard.
- Dense Fog in Iowa, December 28, 2024Dense fog blanketed the area on the the morning of December 28th with a dense fog advisory in effect for visibility under a quarter mile. Unfortunately a car accident that morning resulted in three fatalities and three injuries.
- Dense Fog in California, July 26, 2025A plane crash into the Pacific Ocean near Pacific Grove on July 26 killed all three people aboard. A twin-engine Beechcraft, tail number N8796R, departed from San Carlos Airport in the Bay Area at approximately 10:07 p.m., heading to Monterey Regional Airport.
- Dense Fog in Texas, November 22, 2012An area of dense fog on Interstate 10 lead to massive pileup.
The costliest
Damage from this kind of event within each episode, in the dollars of its year.
- Dense Fog in California, February 9 to 12, 2008
- Dense Fog in Texas, November 22, 2012
- Dense Fog in Louisiana, October 23, 2023
- Dense Fog in North Dakota, January 15 to 20, 2023
- Dense Fog in New York, December 24 to 25, 2014
- Dense Fog in Oregon, October 19, 2022
- Dense Fog in California, December 11, 1997
- Dense Fog in California, April 1, 2004
- Dense Fog in California, November 14, 1998
- Dense Fog in California, November 14 to 22, 2002
- Dense Fog in California, January 19 to 22, 2013
- Dense Fog in New Jersey, December 24 to 25, 2014
- Dense Fog in Georgia, February 6, 2013
- Dense Fog in Florida, December 27, 1996
- Dense Fog in California, January 3, 2002
- Dense Fog in Mississippi, February 21, 2024
- Dense Fog in California, December 5, 2009
- Dense Fog in California, January 14, 2022
- Dense Fog in California, December 18, 1998
- Dense Fog in Utah, February 3, 2002
- Dense Fog in Utah, January 8, 2003
- Dense Fog in Virginia, September 27, 2010
- Frost and Freeze and Dense Fog in California, January 2 to 6, 2013
- Dense Fog in Virginia, March 31, 2013
- Dense Fog in California, February 5 to 6, 2002
By state
| State or waters | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 2,441 | 94 | 740 | $24 million |
| Illinois | 2,188 | 10 | 54 | $219,000 |
| Kentucky | 1,882 | 1 | 6 | $70,000 |
| Virginia | 1,707 | 4 | 26 | $1.3 million |
| Wisconsin | 1,612 | 29 | 63 | $262,000 |
| Maryland | 1,086 | 2 | 38 | |
| Missouri | 1,043 | 5 | 15 | |
| Florida | 751 | 25 | 142 | $1.7 million |
| New Jersey | 737 | 1 | 4 | $1.0 million |
| West Virginia | 545 | 0 | 0 | |
| Indiana | 512 | 7 | 5 | $510,000 |
| Pennsylvania | 466 | 0 | 14 | |
| Colorado | 409 | 4 | 5 | $350,000 |
| Kansas | 311 | 6 | 24 | $120,000 |
| Oklahoma | 306 | 2 | 18 | $110,000 |
| Montana | 291 | 0 | 0 | |
| Iowa | 228 | 9 | 36 | $467,000 |
| Texas | 224 | 14 | 106 | $6.7 million |
| Utah | 170 | 7 | 32 | $1.3 million |
| Georgia | 157 | 7 | 5 | $900,000 |
| Delaware | 145 | 0 | 0 | |
| Arizona | 109 | 2 | 10 | $50,000 |
| Michigan | 97 | 2 | 3 | |
| Minnesota | 86 | 5 | 16 | $199,000 |
| South Carolina | 53 | 1 | 16 | $35,000 |
| North Carolina | 50 | 1 | 16 | $54,000 |
| Nevada | 44 | 0 | 0 | $10,000 |
| Wyoming | 41 | 2 | 30 | $46,000 |
| District of Columbia | 32 | 0 | 0 | |
| Oregon | 23 | 7 | 24 | $2.1 million |
| Idaho | 19 | 1 | 14 | $373,000 |
| New York | 18 | 2 | 14 | $2.0 million |
| South Dakota | 15 | 8 | 10 | $20,000 |
| Ohio | 14 | 8 | 42 | $562,000 |
| Louisiana | 13 | 12 | 195 | $4.3 million |
| Vermont | 11 | 0 | 0 | $45,000 |
| North Dakota | 9 | 2 | 4 | $2.6 million |
| Washington | 8 | 3 | 4 | $390,000 |
| Alabama | 7 | 0 | 29 | $600,000 |
| Nebraska | 6 | 3 | 2 | $485,000 |
| New Mexico | 4 | 4 | 10 | $75,000 |
| Arkansas | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mississippi | 3 | 1 | 21 | $750,000 |
| Hawaii | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Maine | 2 | 1 | 24 | |
| Rhode Island | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Every kind of event
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Hail
- Flash Flood
- High Wind
- Winter Storm
- Drought
- Winter Weather
- Tornado
- Heavy Snow
- Flood
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind
- Heat
- Heavy Rain
- Strong Wind
- Excessive Heat
- Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
- Cold/Wind Chill
- Lightning
- Dense Fog
- Blizzard
- Frost/Freeze
- Ice Storm
- High Surf
- Funnel Cloud
- Wildfire
- Tropical Storm
- Waterspout
- Coastal Flood
- Lake-Effect Snow
- Debris Flow
- Hurricane (Typhoon)
- Dust Storm
- Rip Current
- Storm Surge/Tide
- Marine High Wind
- Sleet
- Avalanche
- Marine Hail
- Astronomical Low Tide
- Marine Tropical Storm
- Tropical Depression
- Freezing Fog
- Lakeshore Flood
- Dust Devil
- Marine Strong Wind
- Dense Smoke
- Marine Hurricane/Typhoon
- Volcanic Ashfall
- Seiche
- Sneakerwave
- Volcanic Ash
- Tsunami
- Marine Tropical Depression
- Marine Dense Fog
- Northern Lights
- Marine Lightning
- Hurricane
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 2026-09-24.