Freezing Fog Causes 20+ Accidents, Kills One in Memphis

[mempho]

I'm surprised this hasn't been discussed at all.  The Freezing Fog accumulation this morning on the bridges was easily visible as it looked like a light snow accumulation as I drove to work this morning. 

In any case, there were over 20 accidents this morning in Memphis as motorists unknowingly hit sheets of ice caused by the freezing fog.  There were more accidents in West Memphis, AR and there were wrecks on both sides of the Hernando DeSoto Bridge, which spans the Mississippi River (I-40).  Included in the accident count was an accident that included nearly a dozen cars on I-240 Northbound and unfortunately killed one person.  Here is the summary from the Commercial Appeal:

Traffic was at a standstill on I-240 North at Lamar in Midtown this morning due to an accident involving more than a dozen cars.
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One person was killed in the crash.

Police say I-240 northbound at Lamar was closed as officials investigated the accident. It has since reopened.

Ice on the Hernando-DeSoto Bridge led to early-morning backups and crashes on both sides. Memphis police citywide worked more than 20 accidents on the interstate system; West Memphis Police also worked several accidents on their side.

National Weather Service officials said freezing fog contributed to ice forming on bridges and highway overpasses this morning.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation sent out a fleet to salt the icy spots around 6:30 a.m. By about 9 a.m., TDOT county supervisor Ricky Taylor said the roads were “all thawed out.”

Temperatures dipped to a 29-degree low early this morning but are anticipated to climb into the lower 50s later in the day.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/dec/21/21trafficweb/

Freezing fog of this nature is relatively rare here, so I thought this was of some interest.  Otherwise, I'm waiting on hour 300 of the GFS to verify. 

[Curt]

Sorry, we had a piece in the Winter 09-10 thread. This was a serious accident and shows that Freezing Fog aint nothing to play with.

[Kevin]

More Freezing Fog Advisories for all of Middle TN...and most of West TN (Exception being the Memphis metro). Use caution while driving...particularly on bridges and overpasses.

One gripe though...this is in OHX's advisory (the part that gets read on the radio)...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NASHVILLE HAS ISSUED A FREEZING 
FOG ADVISORY ACROSS MIDDLE TENNESSEE...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 
AM CST TUESDAY. 
 
* TIMING: 22/06-14Z 
 
* VISIBILITY: <1/2 MILE 
 
* IMPACTS: SLICK SPOTS ON BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES 
 

Ummm...nobody that hears that will have a clue what 6z to 14z is...and I'm sure the radio is absolutely mangling the pronunciation of that entire line to begin with. 

[Thundersnow]

It's apparently pretty bad.  This was the top story when I turned on the local news this morning.  It's more widespread that yesterday.

[dwagner88]

Had a bit in the subdivision this morning, it wasn't enough to cause problems, but the moisture did cause my car doorlocks to freeze up. That was annoying.

[Clay]

I saw some freezing fog in NE AR and in the Bootheel of Missouri on my way to Nashville this morning. Everything, including elevated road surfaces was covered with a layer of frost. It looked like a small ice storm had hit.