Fog strikes Seattle ahead of New Year’s Eve celebrations

A dense fog advisory has been issued for Seattle on New Year’s Eve.

The U.S. National Weather Service issued the warning just after 6 p.m. Wednesday, stating it will last until 2 a.m. Thursday, New Year’s Day.

“Dense fog significantly reduces visibility and reaction time, making it crucial for drivers to exercise extreme caution,” the U.S. National Weather Service said. “The advisory covers a substantial portion of the region and will persist through the evening hours into New Year’s Day morning.”

Visibility has been reduced to approximately one-quarter of a mile.

The alert even recommends postponing travel if it is scheduled for Wednesday evening or night.

Cool, dry weather for New Year’s

Wednesday featured cool, dry weather, which will continue through the midnight celebrations. Higher pressure aloft over the Pacific Northwest is forecast to hold into New Year’s Day.

A change in the recent cool, dry conditions, though, is expected to unfold before the end of the week. The high pressure aloft is forecast to shift inland, allowing a wetter and milder weather pattern to get underway.

Rain is anticipated to return Friday and continue into the first weekend of the New Year. Temperatures will be milder with highs climbing close to 50 degrees and lows dipping only into the upper 30s to mid-40s.

This milder wetter weather pattern is forecast to continue into next week as well.

King tides return

The next cycle of King tides will begin this weekend and continue through Jan. 8.

King tides are the highest tides that occur during each winter season when the sun, moon, and Earth are all aligned. Earth orbits the sun in an elliptical orbit and, during the winter season, it is closer to the sun, producing a greater gravitational pull. When the moon is aligned with the sun, both produce a stronger gravitational pull on the oceans, resulting in King tides.

King tides by themselves can cause minor tidal overflow flooding of low-lying coastal areas of Western Washington. But if a storm with lower atmospheric pressure coincides with a King Tide, then a higher tidal anomaly, meaning higher tides than predicted for that date and time, can occur. And if the storm is also producing strong winds, wave action can result in greater coastal flooding damage.

At this point, an intense type of storm is not anticipated that will exacerbate the King tides. Yet, the weather needs to be closely examined during these high tidal periods.

For Seattle, tidal overflow coastal flooding usually starts at around 13.5 feet. The highest predicted tide for the entire winter season for Seattle will be on Jan. 5 at just under 13 feet.

Stay tuned with the latest weather forecast information during this upcoming King tide cycle from Jan. 3–8 in case stormy, windy weather arises. In the meantime, shoreline property owners can take action now to help avoid damage, such as reinforcing seawalls and other protective structures.

Have a safe and wonderful New Year’s Eve celebration. Happy New Year!

Contributing: Ted Buehner, KIRO Newsradio

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