Predicting autumn morning fog

[Bear Guy]

Weather folks: I'm wondering if there's a way to predict if and where portions of the lake will be fogged-in on a fall morning.
The problem - I'm considering commuting to work a few mornings in September by boat from Bear Island. I did this last year too - one morning was fine but the next I had to wait almost 2 hours for the fog to lift so I could head to the marina. I rely on visual navigation - I don't own a special GPS for the lake - so being able to see where I'm going matters.

[upthesaukee]

Watch dewpoint temperatures vs air temperatures. The closer those two are, there is a likelihood of fog, especially with calm winds.

One point: using a GPS device to navigate in fog may keep you from hitting an island, a shoal area, e.t.c., but won't keep you from hitting another vessel doing the same thing! :rolleye1:

Dave

[MDoug]

I use Raymarine gps and radar. My iphone Google Maps app also works ok as backup gps

[Slickcraft]

I agree with UP. A cold calm morning in the fall usually does it. Even a mild breeze like 3 or 4 mph will clear the fog. Dead calm and cold then you will have a long wait for it to clear.

Several mornings each fall we go from Welch to Glendale in fog via GPS. We go slow both of us looking and listening for that other boat. Yes when following a GPS route in fog, the other boat is the real concern.

[upthesaukee]

Per the NH Boating Guide, page 37 (I think), states that in reduced visibility, a powerboat should sound a prolonged blast at intervals not to exceed 2 minutes.

Dave

[Riviera]

Weather folks: I'm wondering if there's a way to predict if and where portions of the lake will be fogged-in on a fall morning.

Try usairnet.com It's an aviation website that shows the ceiling (cloud height) and visibility (visual distance at ground level). This should tell you when fog is predicted, and when it should lift.

I find it to be very accurate, and useful for all recreational weather planning.

http://www.usairnet.com/cgi-bin/launch/code.cgi?state=NH&sta=KLCI

[steve-on-mark]

Weather folks: I'm wondering if there's a way to predict if and where portions of the lake will be fogged-in on a fall morning.
The problem - I'm considering commuting to work a few mornings in September by boat from Bear Island. I did this last year too - one morning was fine but the next I had to wait almost 2 hours for the fog to lift so I could head to the marina. I rely on visual navigation - I don't own a special GPS for the lake - so being able to see where I'm going matters.I commute regularly between Mark and Glendale and that early fog can be brutal. Some mornings it's clear between Mark and Bear, but when I come around Mink I can barely see the front of the boat! I have GPS on the pontoon, but not on the Chaparral. I downloaded an app to my phone called Fly to Map...it's a chart plotter. On a clear day, I turned it on and took a straight course to Glendale. The chart plotter makes a track which can be saved, then called up when it's needed. Keep the icon on the track, and it'll get you where you need to go, even through the thickest fog!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app (http://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=92687)

[ApS]

I use Raymarine gps and radar. My iphone Google Maps app also works ok as backup gps

While I don't own a kayak, curiosity drove me to Google—where I found this statement:


A decade or so ago, my local club did a test of various radar reflection strategies (including one commercial reflector on the market at the time) with the local Coast Guard. The other makeshift things we tried were wrapping a paddler in a Mylar blanket, covering a helmet with aluminum foil and one guy actually wore a steel colander on his head. It was on a windy, rough day and the bottom line is that even though they could see us visually, nothing made us visible to radar. According to the radar operator, we never looked any bigger than a sea gull on the water and couldn't be readily distinguished from the surface noise. If he hadn't known where we were, he never would have given what he saw a second thought. This was at close range, so at a distance our visibility would have been even worse.

[MDoug]

My Raymarine radar has alerted me twice to fishermen in front of me in the fog.

[Slickcraft]

5:30 am today dew point 52 and air temp 53 at shore of Welch. Moderately thick fog over the lake. At 6 am light 2 to 4 mph breeze. 6:15 am fog gone.