We are driving the PCH on August 2nd ,Does the fog mean that driving conditions are dangerous, or just that distant views may not be good? I%26#39;ve just been looking at the Nepenthe web cam and the fog looks quite bad! Now that all our plans are finalised I%26#39;m starting to worry about the drive down the coast.
Can someone who has driven this route around the same time advise.
Dangerous Driving (fog)?Fog is much less of a problem in August than May/June that you are looking at now, however it can be foggy along the coast at any time of year. If it gets too bad, pull off for awhile, it shoudllburn off by afternoon at that time of year.
Dangerous Driving (fog)?The fog rolling in can be gorgeous
Yes. Fog is dangerous for driving here because people tend to drive too fast and too close to each other here. Be careful.
Pile-ups occur occasionally in the Central Valley.
Fortunately, PCH is curvy. The curves should keep everyone but Darwinian Award winners slow.
The central valley has what we call Tulle Fog. This is thick - you can%26#39;t see your hand in front of your face - fog. I have lived in Central CA and it%26#39;s quite dangerous.
However, PCH is a different story. In the first place it rolls in and out and doesn%26#39;t stay in one place much. Plus it is never the thick - can%26#39;t see your hand type of fog. You may not see the ocean for a while, and then, the sun bursts out and there it all is.
The hotter the central valleys are, are the days the fog is pulled into the coastline. In Morro Bay we often have glorious days and then in the heat of the afternoon in the central CA the fog suddenly seems to come out of nowhere and surround Morro Rock and fluff up on the coast. You can drive a mere 10 miles inland and have no fog at all.
So, I personally do not think you will need to worry. It%26#39;s a different type of fog and hardly ever so thick it%26#39;s dangerous. Just drive safely and be sure you can see the car ahead of you. It could be very clear in only a few miles.
Yes, the tule fog is a winter fog in the interior valleys which does cause horrible pile-ups, but does not occur along the coast.
The summer coastal fog is considerably more benign, usually you can see far enough ahead to navigate a car. It sweeps in off the ocean, rather than just sitting in big mass. So, for the most part, it means that distant views are not good. I looked at the Nepenthe cam and it looked like the fog was way down there at about a hundred/two hundred feet, not up where the road is. That is one condition you may encounter, but as summer goes on, the fog tends to get sucked up higher and higher by the interior heat, so it may be at road level and higher later on, but the road is often enough in a protected pocket, at least for a bit, with the fog swirling over it.
Thanks for your replies, we feel encouraged by your responses and look forward to our trip. This is such a great site and questions are always answered - although some q%26#39;s may seem silly to the locals!
Thanks again
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