Mist

This article is about the weather phenomenon. For the computer game series, see Myst.

For the Stephen King novella, see The Mist.

Misty Morning at Swifts Creek

Mist is a phenomenon of small droplets suspended in air. It can occur as part of natural weather or volcanic activity, and is common in cold air above warmer water, in exhaled air in the cold, and in a steam room of a sauna. It can also be created artificially with aerosol canisters if the humidity conditions are right.

Sunlight filters through a thin layer of fog on a crisp winter morning in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The only difference between mist and fog is visibility [1]. This phenomenon is called fog if the visibility is one kilometre or less (in the UK for driving purposes the definition of fog is visibility less than 200 metres, for pilots the distance is 1 kilometre). Otherwise it is known as mist. Seen from a distance, mist is bluish, while haze is more brownish.

Strong superstitious and religious connotations are associated with mist in some cultures.

Mist makes a beam of light visible from the side via refraction and reflection of the suspended water droplets.

Scotch Mist refers to a light, steady drizzle, the name being typical of the Scottish penchant for understatement.

Mists usually occur near the shores, and is often associated with fog.

Mist can also be as high as mountain tops when extreme temparatures are low.

Light patches of mist on a cool morning in Australia

Hills of South Gippsland in Victoria, Australia, partly shrouded in morning mist

See also

Look up mist in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Mist

• Fog
• Haze
• Drizzle
• Aeroponics

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