Heavy fog rolled into Sedalia on Monday morning, Jan. 22, and has added to already miserable weather conditions plaguing Pettis County.
“It has definitely affected traffic as far as slowing it down,” Sedalia Interim Police Chief David Woolery said. “We have not had a noticeable increase in accidents where fog was a related contributing circumstance.”
The thick layer of fog socked the town with very low visibility, which weather experts say is partly a result of recent snows.
Hallie Bova is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill and explained the recently foggy weather.
“We've had snow recently, we've had some rain,” Bova said, “so we have a lot of moisture at the ground and our temperatures have been cooling enough so that they can condensate and create those water droplets, so really it's that moisture that's been trapped at the ground due to the recent snowfall and rain and it's creating really low clouds and fog.”
As with any weather system, it can simply be a matter of waiting for the next weather front to push it from the area.
“Actually, we are kind of waiting,” Bova said Thursday, Jan. 25. “We'll probably see some improvements by this afternoon. This rain moving through will help clear some of this out and we'll be trending towards seeing clear skies by Sunday.”
Which is good news for anyone trying to drive in the limited visibility, day or night.
“It was a little better in town because of the streetlights that give some illumination to see past it,” Woolery admitted, “but whether you're in town or out of town, there are some things you can do to prepare yourself and make your journey a little safer when driving in the fog. First and foremost, slow down, absolutely have your headlights on and always be prepared to stop in foggy conditions because with visibility down, you can’t see what's in front of you and those stopped objects come up quick.”
By law, when it is raining, drivers are required to have their headlights on, but police say it’s good practice to drive with your lights on in any inclement weather.
“They should definitely have them on in the fog as well,” Woolery said. “Allow extra time to reach their destination and give more room to the vehicles in front of you – it will give you more reaction time and give the people in front of you a little more time to do what they need to do.”
Finally, police warn against stopping on foggy roads, a situation known for causing deadly multi-car pileups.
“If the fog is so thick that someone just isn't comfortable driving, don't stop right there in the roadway,” Woolery warns. “Keep going until you're off the thoroughfare because when cars come up behind you, there's a good chance they're not going to see you until it's too late.”
Police also say you can watch the right-side pavement markers in snow, rain or fog to keep your position on the roadway but remain vigilant until the fog clears the area this weekend.
“We do have rain in the forecast both today and again on Saturday,” Bova said. “The really low visibility restricting fog will be out of here this afternoon, but we will have really gray skies clear around this Saturday.”
Chris Howell can be reached at 660-530-0146.
