The National Weather Service has put out a dense fog advisory for 11 states in the south of the country, warning millions of drivers about the poor visibility.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, the NWS implemented the advisory because of "visibility one quarter mile or less in dense fog," which it warned "could make driving conditions hazardous."
The advice given to drivers is to "slow down, use your headlights, and leave plenty of distance ahead of you."
The 11 states that have the advisory in place includes Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia.
Dense fog forms when the air near the ground cools down to its dew point, the temperature when water vapor condenses into liquid water droplets suspended in the air.
Texas
In Texas, it is the southwestern region of the state affected by dense fog, such as the counties of Atascosa, Bastrop, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Lee, Wilson, De Witt, Fayette, Gonzales, Karnes and Lavaca.
The advisory was put into place at 3:45 a.m. CT and will continue until 10 a.m.
Louisiana
Areas of central, southern, and southwest Louisiana have the advisory in place, which has been active since 2:45 a.m.
The advisory will remain in place in the state until 10 a.m. this morning, and those travelling by car in the state have been told to proceed with caution given the low visibility.
Arkansas
Central, southeast, southwest, and western regions of Arkansas have the dense fog advisory in place.
Arkansas has had the dense fog advisory in place since 9:37 p.m. CT on Tuesday evening, which will remain active until 8 a.m. Wednesday.
Mississippi
In Mississippi, the dense fog advisory in the south was put in place at midnight local time.
The advisory will remain in place until 9 a.m. local time.
As the visibility could make driving conditions "hazardous," the weather service has cautioned the drivers in the state to travel more slowly.
Alabama
In Alabama, the advisory came into place at around 2 a.m. local time and will remain in place until 8 a.m.
The areas affected in the state stretch across the north, into the center and parts of the southwest, including George, Greene, Perry, and Stone counties.
Drivers have also been warned to proceed with caution given the low visibility in this state.
Georgia
The whole of Georgia has an advisory in place, which will remain active until 9 a.m. ET Wednesday morning.
While other states have had visibility one quarter mile or less in dense fog, Georgia has a visibility of one half mile or less, according to the weather service.
Florida
The weather service put the advisory in place for areas of Panhandle Florida, the northwestern part of the state.
The advisory is also in place in a few cities that are more central, including in Tampa.
The advisory remains in effect until 10 a.m. local time.
Tennessee
Eastern parts of Tennessee have had the advisory in place since 3:18 a.m. local time, and will continue to have it until 9 a.m. on Wednesday morning.
South Carolina
The whole of South Carolina has the advisory in place.
After being issued at 3:14 a.m. ET, the advisory will remain active until 10 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Drivers have again been warned to ensure there is plenty of distance in front of them and that they travel slowly.
The weather service also added that "some locations have seen fog become more
patchy or variable in thickness since late evening but have recently improved."
"Such locations are likely to see visibilities worsen again, at least for short periods, before the fog dissipates altogether in late morning," it added.
A small craft advisory also remains in effect until 6 a.m. local time in the state, as the weather service reported "conditions will be hazardous to small craft."
"Low visibility will make navigation difficult," the service added.
It advised that "inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions."
The weather service added that, if mariners must navigate, they should "proceed with caution, use proper fog signals, make sure all running lights are on and remember to use [their] radar and compass."
North Carolina
The vast majority of North Carolina has the advisory in place, except for a few northwestern and northeastern counties.
In the state, the advisory remains in place until 10 a.m. local time, and the same driving warning applies.
Virginia
In Virginia, the counties in the west of the state including Caswell, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry, Wilkes and Yadkin have had the advisory in place since 4 in the morning local time.
The advisory will remain active until 9 a.m.
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