# Is "freezing fog", a relatively new weather term?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-freezing-fog-a-relatively-new-weather-term/528420
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [February 10, 2010, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-freezing-fog-a-relatively-new-weather-term/528420 "2010-02-10T14:26:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2010, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-freezing-fog-a-relatively-new-weather-term/528420/21 "2010-02-10T19:28:49Z")
> [@Wilbo523](#):
>
> Thanks.
>
> How about you US residents that don’t read the Farmer’s Almanac?
I clearly recall hearing about it in flight training, that was way back in 1995 or so. Said flight training being in the Chicago area. It definitely seems to have been weather jargon of some sort for a long time, but maybe not mainstream.
I might have heard it earlier than that, but the recollection is fuzzy.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2010, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-freezing-fog-a-relatively-new-weather-term/528420/22 "2010-02-10T22:38:14Z")
> [@bibliophage](#):
>
> Freezing fog is not the same thing as ice fog or pogonip. Pogonip (the New England term) or ice fog (the Alaska term) is composed of small crystals of ice suspended in air. Freezing fog is like ordinary fog, made up of tiny droplets of liquid water suspended in the air. What makes it “freezing” is that when it contacts a surface (like a roadway) that is below the freezing point, it freezes, forming a thin layer of slippery ice. If it’s heavy enough, freezing fog is similar to freezing rain in its effects on traffic safety, but it doesn’t coat surfaces heavily enough to bring down power lines and tree limbs.
Right. The ice fog in Fairbanks gets so dense at -40F (Fairbanks air is very polluted), you literally cannot see beyond your fingertips. Trying to drive a car is pointless, as the ice bounces the light right back at you.
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### Author:  [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)
#### Post date: [February 11, 2010, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-freezing-fog-a-relatively-new-weather-term/528420/23 "2010-02-11T00:12:17Z")
> [@freckafree](#):
>
> I imagine “hoar frost” has gone the way of “niggardly” and “titular” – words you don’t say because they sound dirty.
When I was last living in New Zealand, about 10 years ago, “hoar frost” was a common term.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [February 11, 2010, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-freezing-fog-a-relatively-new-weather-term/528420/24 "2010-02-11T04:07:07Z")
“Freezing fog” has been standard US technical meteorological terminology for decades. I suspect with the advent of the internet and weather channel, a lot more people are being exposed to more details about weather.
40 years ago the local evening TV weather report on the main network channels was “partly cloudy and a high 35 degres, with a chance of snow. Now here’s Dan with the sports.” Big difference vs today.
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