A combination of warm temperatures, humid air, and smoke from a nearby marsh fire might create not just foggy conditions but “super fog” across southeastern Louisiana during the nights and mornings leading up to and including Super Bowl Sunday in New Orleans.
Visibility could drop to less than a quarter of a mile at times – or less during super fog – particularly in the hours before sunrise.
According to the National Weather Service, “super fog” occurs when smoke and moisture from damp materials mix with cooler air, drastically reducing visibility – sometimes to less than 10 feet.
Video from FOX Weather Correspondent Brandy Campbell on Friday morning showed dense low-lying fog around New Orleans.
The phenomenon is occasionally observed along the Gulf Coast and Florida during seasonal transitions that feature warm air.
Louisiana authorities are closely monitoring the marsh fire burning in rural St. Charles Parish, north of Lake Salvador. But due to its location in difficult terrain, little can be done to immediately put out the fire.
Tourism officials are expecting around 100,000 people to travel to New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX on Sunday.
Aside from the fog, weather conditions are not expected to pose major problems for travelers along Interstate 55 or Interstate 10 before the big game, which will feature the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Forecasts call for temperatures to reach the upper 70s on Sunday, which is 10-15 degrees above normal for early February.
The NWS office that covers the New Orleans area reports that the record high for the date is 82 degrees, meaning temperatures will likely be closer to record warmth than to cold.
After Sunday, a storm system that will trek through the mid-South could impact travelers on their way home out of the Big Easy during the upcoming workweek.
Forecast models show wintry precipitation could fall as far south as the southern Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic, while thunderstorms will occur along the Gulf Coast and into the Tennessee Valley.
Super fog linked to deadly crashes
Dense episodes of super fog have been linked to deadly crashes in the past, especially along Interstate 10 and the Gulf Coast.
In 2023, seven people were killed when more than 150 vehicles were involved in crashes along Interstate 55 near New Orleans.
Smoke from a nearby brush fire combined with fog to reduce visibility to near zero.
In 2014, a massive pileup in Florida, along I-75 south of Gainesville, caused the deaths of nearly a dozen people when fog and smoke from controlled burns led to nearly zero visibility.
The incident led to changes in protocols for when controlled burns are allowed to take place.
