Fogbow Over Southern Ontario, Canada

November 15, 2021

Fogbow

Photographer: Malcolm Park

Summary Author: Malcolm Park; Cadan Cummings

Around 8:00am local time on September 16, Southern Ontario, Canada was covered in a morning fog. It is not uncommon for fog to form in the late summer into the fall as temperatures begin to drop at night, which causes water vapor in the air to condense. I went for my morning walk, and I noticed this amazing fogbow in the west. This was by far the best fogbow I have ever seen, but I haven't seen that many. I checked on my phone, and the Sun was at about 12 degrees altitude above the eastern horizon when I captured this picture. Different to rainbows, fogbows form when light interacts with condensed water vapor (fog) in the air instead of the comparably larger diameter water droplets present after a rainstorm. In fact, it is this difference in droplet size that makes the fogbow less colorful because light is refracted and reflected differently in fog than by a raindrop. After my walk, I drove west for about an hour and the fog as well as fogbow persisted for most of the drive. So, it was widespread from my experience, and I also saw reports of it online from other areas of the province.

Photo Details: iPhone SE using panorama mode


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