Karl the Fog

You know something is important and noteworthy when it has its own Instagram page and when a kid’s book is written about the subject and a store in Sausalito is named after it. Case in point: fog, or better known to us Bay Area folks as infamous Karl the Fog. 

I suppose the act of fog having a person’s name and anthropomorphizing it makes the fog friendlier and more of an agreeable neighbor than a neighborhood nuisance and seen as dreary weather.

I, actually, love the fog. I love the dewy feeling on my face, the way it tumbles and somersaults down the hills and pours into the bay like grayish whipped cream. I love the fog horns sounding in the distance signaling a cooling trend after we have battled unseasonable hot weather, and I love how this dye-free cotton candy hugs the beaches and creates hazy infused monotones, almost a misty, mysterious embrace.

I don’t live in San Francisco where it is way foggier than where I live in Mill Valley, but we are in proximity. I also look forward to heading toward the Golden Gate Bridge before crossing into San Francisco and seeing the fog march in, with total abandon and with nothing stopping it.

Secretly, I also love watching tourists in shorts and tee-shirts freezing their asses off when they are walking the bridge. You just know that they are shivering and trying to peer through the fog to see the view of San Francisco that they flew hundreds of miles to witness and take selfies in front of. Again and again you see hypothermia plagued tourists huddled together, their hair swirling together in a tornado like pattern, and they are yelling to each other over the hum of cars whizzing by, “Well, this sure blows chunks!” Then a worse situation whizzes by these frozen masses which is the no roof tourist busses where the folks on top are swallowed up by the fog and wind and wetness. They are huddled together, praying for the ride to end.

So apparently, the name attribution all started on Twitter when the account @KarlTheFog entered the scene in August 2010. The creator wished that the fog had a way to defend itself from being portrayed as ‘bad weather’. The creator became known for the silly, ironic tweets, such as: Today's forecast: mostly foggy with a side of fog plus some more fog.

At some point, people started referring to the weather pattern as “Karl” in conversation. The name became so well known that Karl was even used as a clue on the show Jeopardy.

Turns out that the name Karl is a reference to the 2003 film “Big Fish” where Karl was the giant everyone was afraid of because they worried that Karl would eat or kill everyone when in fact he was simply lonely and hungry. I don’t think Karl the Fog is lonely or hungry but who knows. Nature has a life of its own for sure. I like to now imagine a ravenous Karl invading San Francisco with the sole desire to devour the buildings and people, maybe leaving alone the filthy Muni buses. 

Fun Fog Facts:

·      The National Weather Service defines fog as visible moisture that forms below a height of 50 feet and blankets the ground, while clouds sit above this height and fill the sky. 

·      Despite wide attribution to Mark Twain, no concrete evidence exists that Twain actually said, “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” However, this quote has become a popular phrase associated with San Francisco’s cool and foggy summers. I, myself, have uttered that phrase once or 20 times, and the sentiment feels true for those who have experienced the city’s famous fog. And if nothing else, the phrase playful nods to the city’s unique microclimate.

·      Two fog horns are positioned on the Golden Gate Bridge. They toot, on average, for 2.5 hours each day, playing a critical role in guiding boats safely through the dense weather occurrence.

·      San Francisco experiences advection fog, which happens when moist, warm air from the Pacific Ocean meet and greets with the cooler coastal wind current and creates low-rolling fog (AKA Karl). And unlike radiation fog, which dissipates by morning, persistent Karl hangs out all day.

·      While San Francisco is famous for its fog, it is not the only place in the world that experiences this misty wonder. Local Point Reyes averages 200 foggy days a year, plus there are towns in Maine, Washington, and Newfoundland that experience this pattern as well.