People flying in and out of the Sacramento International Airport were shivering this past week … and for good reason.
Aerial pictures of the fog coverage enveloping the Central Valley are gorgeous, wallpaper-worthy even. The think, cloud-like blanket in the Central Valley, often referred to as the Tule Fog, has stuck around now for almost two weeks; should this Tule Fog sit for over 16 days, it will have broken an over 40-year record; 1985 was the last year on record when Tule Fog blanketed the Fresno and the Sacramento Valley for 16 and 17 consecutive days, respectively.
Sacramento International Airport hasn’t risen above 46°F for more than 190 hours.
The last time the Sacramento area experienced a full week of daily max temperatures this low was over 30 years ago.
A seemingly endless stretch of low clouds and sunless days continues in… pic.twitter.com/xVGRCtIw33
— Colin McCarthy (@US_Stormwatch) December 12, 2025
September through November this year saw central and southern California experience exceptionally wet weather. Autumn perception totals for the two regions were in the top 10% ever recorded for the areas, with wet weather that directly impacted and aided this winter’s Tule Fog formation.
This year’s Tule Fog formation has allowed record-breaking lows to form in the San Francisco Bay Area and elsewhere. The Sacramento International Airport, for example, broke a 30-year-old record with a streak of low temperatures not felt since 1995.
“Sacramento International Airport hasn’t risen above 46°F for more than 190 hours,” reads a post on X by Colin McCarthy, Founder of US Stormwatch and a student at the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, expanding on the unusual cold temperatures. “The last time the Sacramento area experienced a full week of daily max temperatures this low was over 30 years ago.”
The Tule Fog — which has historically formed during late autumn during years when Central Valley and Southern California receive ample precipitation; the fog, aptly named after the sedge that grows in the area’s marshes, usually sticks around for a few days when it forms — stretched hundreds of miles down the spine of California. This year’s Tule Fog formation measures over 400 miles in length, snuffing out the sun in areas that would otherwise see clear skies this time of year. It’s a “seemingly endless stretch” of milky sky conditions that has the entire Central Valley in a child chokehold.
“A seemingly endless stretch of low clouds and sunless days continues in California’s Central Valley,” continues McCarthy’s post. And with no end to the Tule Fog in sight (or forecasted, for that matter), it’s likely more record-low temperature streaks will be broken in the coming days.
