AUSTIN (KXAN) — The frigid cold over Lake Travis brought a rarely seen sight to Central Texas. As an arctic cold front rolled into the region Friday night, air temperatures plunged from the sixties down into the 30s, in a matter of a few hours. This dramatic temperature drop didn’t just bring icy conditions and bitter cold, but also set the scene for a rarely seen phenomenon in Central Texas, known as steam fog.
LIVE BLOG: Sleet, freezing rain blanketing Texas Hill Country; Ice Storm Warning in effect
Steam fog, also called sea smoke, occurs when cold, dry air moves over much warmer water. The sharp contrast in temperatures causes the comparably warm water vapor right above the lake to quickly reach saturation and condense into this low-lying characteristic fog.
Generally, a temperature difference of about 15º is needed for steam fog to occur, with fog becoming denser as the temperature gap grows. Conditions this weekend were ideal for its formation. Water temperatures at Lake Travis were near 60º Saturday, while air temperatures dropped below 30º, leaving us with a beautiful example of this locally rare phenomenon!…