Fogbows, Glories, and Brocken Spectres

Another winter storm brought some snow but also morning fog to some of the low-lying areas. This type of shallow fog can produce fogbows as well as a Glory and Brocken spectre. I was not disappointed as all three were visible.

Fog bow with Glory and Brocken spectre.
Fog bow with Glory and Brocken spectre.
Glory and Brocken Spectre (center) with partial segments of a Fogbow.
Glory and Brocken Spectre (center) with partial segments of a Fogbow.

Time lapse (50x) of fog.

Another round of snow is expected this week.

Fog and Atmospheric Optics

Fog with a Glory, Brocken spectre, and two segments of a fogbow.

In the wake of a departing low pressure system I expected that there might be areas of dense fog in the morning. I awoke well before sunrise to look at satellite images to see if fog was developing. And, yes, there were some hints that fog was present. Good!

GOES-16 IR satellite image from ~5 a.m. showing large areas of fog across northern Arizona.
GOES-16 IR satellite image from ~5 a.m. showing large areas of fog across northern Arizona.

I left the house around 6 a.m. and headed east on Lake Mary Road. A few miles outside of town I ran into fog. Visibility dropped quickly to around 1/4 mile. Drive carefully!

My destination was the Mormon Lake Overlook. I had some success last winter at this site with a similar fog situation. As I approached the overlook the fog lifted becoming a low cloud deck above me. Hmmmm….not quite what I wanted. Ahead, I could see the edge of the cloud/fog. As I made the final approach to the overlook the road gained a bit of elevation and, suddenly, I was above the cloud/fog deck. Wonderful.

The sun had not yet risen but it was light enough to see that there was a shallow layer of fog covering the Mormon Lake basin. Moments later the sun began to rise through the dense fog.

Sunrise through the fog.
Sunrise through the fog.
Layers of fog at sunrise.
Layers of fog at sunrise.

With the sunrise a Glory and Brocken spectre became visible. Moments later, two short segments of a fog bow appeared. Also visible is a shadow of the overlook.

Fog with a Glory, Brocken spectre, and two segments of a fogbow.
Fog with a Glory, Brocken spectre, and two segments of a fogbow.
Fog begins to dissipate across the Mormon Lake basin.
Fog begins to dissipate across the Mormon Lake basin.

As the fog began to dissipate over Mormon Lake, I headed towards Anderson Mesa Station (home to several telescopes) because it is high enough to be above the fog. But first, along the way, the road dropped down into the fog and I saw this fog bow.

Fogbow near Lake Mary.
Fogbow near Lake Mary.

Finally, atop Anderson Mesa I once again was above the fog and able to photograph a Glory—this time projected onto trees with autumn colors.

Another glory and Brocken spectre projected onto fall foliage.
Another glory and Brocken spectre projected onto fall foliage.

Finally, here is a time-lapse of the fog over Mormon Lake that includes the Glory and the right-hand side of the fog bow.

Edit: Replaced GOES-16 visibile image with IR image.