THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 11, 1994 TAG: 9412110079
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 36 lines
Hampton Roads vanished Saturday afternoon into a thick blanket of fog that slowed highway traffic and forced some airline cancellations and diversions.
Police reported several accidents that may have been the result of low visibility, but none involved serious injuries. Speed limits were lowered and caution warnings posted on some bridges and tunnels.
Visibility dipped to just a few hundred feet at Norfolk International Airport. While the airport remained open - it never closes - some airlines were forced to cancel flights and divert others to cities that were not socked in.
``It's mainly just in this area,'' said meteorologist Lyle Wilson at the National Weather Service office at Norfolk International.
The thick fog developed at midday as a frontal system stalled almost directly over the region, Wilson said. Warm, very moist air to the south of the front was running into much cooler air to the north. Where the two air masses converged, there was heavy fog.
``We expect the front to move north as a warm front'' overnight, Wilson said, adding that there might even be some thunderstorms as it shifts away.
That would bring an end to the fog, and the mercury would rise. But temperatures are not expected to stay mild very long. A strong cold front is expected to swing through the region this afternoon.
Tonight is expected to be clear and very cold with a low around 30.
Monday's forecast is continued sunny skies and cold temperatures, with a high in the low to mid-40s. by CNB