# What is this smoke-like phenomenon near New Orleans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 27, 2006, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-smoke-like-phenomenon-near-new-orleans/381922 "2006-11-27T07:21:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-smoke-like-phenomenon-near-new-orleans/381922/1 "2006-11-27T07:21:15Z")
Riding back from a very pleasant day trip to my sister’s house in NO, as we started upon the elevated section of I-10, my Hubby, who was driving, pointed out the window “Do you see that?” Yes, I did, and the other two passengers in the car did as well. Just outside the edge of the elevated roadway (over swamp/water) we observed tendrils of what looked like gray smoke - almost like cables or wires. they appeared to be the thickness of a cigar, dark gray or black and very wispy. This section of elevated roadway covers a lot of very marshy ground - mud flats/swamp grass/open water. I’m wondering if it were a form of swamp gas, visible because the sun was setting. This occured at about 6 pm, while we were headed west on I-10. Does any one know? ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-smoke-like-phenomenon-near-new-orleans/381922/2 "2006-11-27T07:22:51Z")
Forgot to add: these “smoke” wisps were vertical. ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-smoke-like-phenomenon-near-new-orleans/381922/3 "2006-11-27T10:24:46Z")
maybe gnats or midges? ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-smoke-like-phenomenon-near-new-orleans/381922/4 "2006-11-27T20:29:12Z")
Hmm. That might be it. These were very thin tho, compared to most clouds of gnats I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-smoke-like-phenomenon-near-new-orleans/381922/5 "2006-11-27T23:53:45Z")
Where exactly was this? Over the spillway, just west of New Orleans? I’ve never seen such a thing and now you’ve got me curious about what you saw. How high up did they extend? ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-smoke-like-phenomenon-near-new-orleans/381922/6 "2006-11-28T00:13:41Z")
Hi **Jason** glad to see you’re back home. 🙂 It looked like cylindrical clouds; gray or black in color; like I said about the thickness of a cigar (to me - Hubby says 3 to 4 inches in diameter). We were indeed in the Bonne Carre (sp) area at the time. It looked as though the water was low - I don’t remember seeing that much mudflat area before. The columns appeared to extend about 20 feet above the elevation of the roadway; their origin (I’m guessing) was in the marsh (below the bridge deck). They appeared to be about 2 to 3 feet outside of the safety railing. It could very well have been “no-see-ums” or something, hanging in columns. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-smoke-like-phenomenon-near-new-orleans/381922/7 "2006-11-28T03:05:17Z")
[QUOTE=NinetyWt] Hi **Jason** glad to see you’re back home. 🙂 [/QUOTE] Thanks, been back about 8 weeks now. 🙂 I have NO clue what you were seeing though. I’ve never seen insects in columns like that. It could’ve been steam coming out of the marsh, especially with the temperature variances we’ve been having the past week or so. The spillway should be pretty dry right now, although there’s usually water right there around I-10. I’m almost tempted to drive out there tomorrow at sunset and see if I can see it. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-smoke-like-phenomenon-near-new-orleans/381922/8 "2006-11-28T03:28:39Z")
Leave the Tulane area at 6 pm; take Carrollton to I-10; then travel west to the spillway. That would put you there at just the same time 😉 . ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-smoke-like-phenomenon-near-new-orleans/381922/9 "2006-11-28T03:58:30Z")
[QUOTE=NinetyWt] Leave the Tulane area at 6 pm; take Carrollton to I-10; then travel west to the spillway. That would put you there at just the same time 😉 . [/QUOTE] With or without rush hour traffic? It’s pretty dark by 6 pm. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-smoke-like-phenomenon-near-new-orleans/381922/10 "2006-11-28T06:57:43Z")
Yah know, you’re right. That ws the Friday after T’giving and traffic ws not bad. I expect a weekend day might be bettah. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-smoke-like-phenomenon-near-new-orleans/381922/11 "2006-11-28T07:26:04Z")
Exposed mudflats ? Could be some sort of clam squirting water upward through their siphon. I see that alot on the Pacific Coast with geoducks. But not twenty feet, more like 10 feet. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2006, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-smoke-like-phenomenon-near-new-orleans/381922/12 "2006-11-29T02:01:28Z")
[QUOTE=The Flying Dutchman] Exposed mudflats ? Could be some sort of clam squirting water upward through their siphon. I see that alot on the Pacific Coast with geoducks. But not twenty feet, more like 10 feet. [/QUOTE] The Interstate there is elevated about 20-30 feet and there’s water under the Interstate.