Dense fog blankets Central Valley, meteorologists say. When will it lift?

Dense fog could make driving hazardous in Sacramento and other Central Valley communities on Tuesday morning.

The National Weather Service issued a dense fog advisory for the region at 2:21 a.m. Tuesday.

The weather agency warns of dense fog in Sacramento, Chico, Fairfield, Redding, Modesto, Stockton, Marysville, Yuba City, Red Bluff and Oroville.

The dense fog advisory also affects communities including Fresno, Merced, Kerman, Los Banos, Sanger, Selma, Tulare and Visalia.

The fog is predicted to continue through noon.

Visibility may be reduced to a quarter-mile or less in dense fog, the agency said.

What’s in the weather forecast for Sacramento? Fresno?

Dense fog was expected to return to the Sacramento area on Tuesday night, with patchy fog forecast Wednesday morning.

Partly cloudy conditions are expected through the rest of the week with some patchy fog, the weather service said.

The Fresno area will see cloudy skies for much of the week, according to the weather service’s latest forecast.

How to stay safe while driving in fog

Take extra caution when on the road or avoid driving if possible.

If you must drive in foggy conditions, the National Weather Service said you should keep the following safety tips in mind:

• Slow down and allow extra time to reach your destination.
• Make your vehicle visible to others both ahead of you and behind you by using your low-beam headlights since this means your taillights will also be on. Use fog lights if you have them.
• Never use your high-beam lights. Using high-beam lights causes glare, making it more difficult for you to see what’s ahead of you on the road.
• Leave plenty of distance between you and the vehicle in front of you to account for sudden stops or changes in the traffic pattern.
• To ensure you are staying in the proper lane, follow the lines on the road with your eyes.
• In extremely dense fog where visibility is near zero, the best course of action is to first turn on your hazard lights, then simply pull into a safe location such as a parking lot of a local business, and stop.
• If there is no parking lot or driveway to pull into, pull your vehicle off to the side of the road as far as possible. Once you come to a stop, turn off all lights except your hazard flashing lights, set the emergency brake, and take your foot off of the brake pedal to be sure the tail lights are not illuminated so that other drivers don’t mistakenly run into you.

This story was originally published January 20, 2026 at 7:39 AM.