A thick fog bank that has blanketed much of California's Central Valley since Thanksgiving has prompted online speculation about a mysterious and dangerous 'radiation fog,' but scientists say the term is being misunderstood.
Social media posts, including one from the account Wall Street Apes, showed a man wiping soot from his truck bumper, claiming something unexplained in the fog. However, experts explain that 'radiation fog' refers to the radiation of heat energy, not nuclear radiation.
This phenomenon, also known as tule fog after a native marsh plant, occurs when moist ground cools rapidly at night, causing water vapor to condense. A rainy autumn and a high-pressure system have exacerbated the effect, creating a fog bank stretching up to 400 miles.
Residents describe the fog as eerie, with peach farmer David Mas Masumoto telling The New York Times it feels like a 'twilight zone.' He noted he hasn't seen such thick fog in 50 years. The particles seen in the fog are likely pollutants, as the Central Valley has poor air quality, according to UC Santa Cruz researcher Peter Weiss-Penzias.
The fog is expected to thin as heavy rains move into the region.
