This and that: It’s fog time
This and that: It’s fog time
By: Peg Connelly
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Posted by admin Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
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The last leaves have finally fallen from my trees. It seemed to take longer this fall what with the warm weather we’ve been having. Last week’s cold snap was followed by a strong wind that took care of any lingering leaves not wanting to give up their grasp on the limbs.
It got down to freezing last night and we are supposed to have a few more days of cold mornings. In the San Joaquin Valley of California, freezing is a cold that goes all the way through to your bones. I always feel guilty when I complain about the cold after reading about some of the northern states being below zero, but around here the cold is different. My brother-in-law is from Montana and he always told us our 32-degree weather is colder than their below zero weather. He felt it was because their weather was so much drier.
Right on schedule, our tule fog has begun. We always have it around Christmas. Visibility gets down to almost zero sometimes. It is very, very dangerous on country roads. Most of the time if you go real slow, keep your windows open and your radio turned off you can hear if anyone is nearing the intersection. If you wait until around 10 a.m. it will lift enough for you to see a couple 100 yards ahead of you, but early mornings are awful.
I can remember one year when it took me and two others over an hour to drive from Delano to Wasco. When we got to an intersection we would all listen, then speed across the street, praying the entire time. That was one miserable ride. After that, our employers told us if the fog was thick, we should wait until it lifted before heading to work.
I think I can handle the fog better than I could cope with snow and ice. That would really terrify me. The slipping on black ice or getting stuck in a snow bank — that would be panic time. I suppose it’s all in what you get use to. I’ve always said I can handle earthquakes much easier than I could tornadoes or hurricanes they have elsewhere. It’s a matter of familiarity.
“Been there, done that” seems to say it all. You can handle what you are accustomed to, no matter how bad it is. So for the next two months, we here in the valley will live with the tule fog and freezing mornings and, as usual, winter just began and I’m already looking forward to spring.
It got down to freezing last night and we are supposed to have a few more days of cold mornings. In the San Joaquin Valley of California, freezing is a cold that goes all the way through to your bones. I always feel guilty when I complain about the cold after reading about some of the northern states being below zero, but around here the cold is different. My brother-in-law is from Montana and he always told us our 32-degree weather is colder than their below zero weather. He felt it was because their weather was so much drier.
Right on schedule, our tule fog has begun. We always have it around Christmas. Visibility gets down to almost zero sometimes. It is very, very dangerous on country roads. Most of the time if you go real slow, keep your windows open and your radio turned off you can hear if anyone is nearing the intersection. If you wait until around 10 a.m. it will lift enough for you to see a couple 100 yards ahead of you, but early mornings are awful.
I can remember one year when it took me and two others over an hour to drive from Delano to Wasco. When we got to an intersection we would all listen, then speed across the street, praying the entire time. That was one miserable ride. After that, our employers told us if the fog was thick, we should wait until it lifted before heading to work.
I think I can handle the fog better than I could cope with snow and ice. That would really terrify me. The slipping on black ice or getting stuck in a snow bank — that would be panic time. I suppose it’s all in what you get use to. I’ve always said I can handle earthquakes much easier than I could tornadoes or hurricanes they have elsewhere. It’s a matter of familiarity.
“Been there, done that” seems to say it all. You can handle what you are accustomed to, no matter how bad it is. So for the next two months, we here in the valley will live with the tule fog and freezing mornings and, as usual, winter just began and I’m already looking forward to spring.
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