Dense fog blankets South Georgia Wednesday morning

Drivers across a wide stretch of south and southeast Georgia face dangerous visibility conditions Wednesday morning, with fog cutting sight lines to a quarter mile or less in some areas.

What’s happening: Five separate weather alerts — three Dense Fog Advisories and two Special Weather Statements — cover dozens of counties stretching from south central Georgia to the coast and into South Carolina’s Lowcountry. Visibility in the hardest-hit areas is down to one-quarter mile or less.

The alerts, by area:

• South central Georgia (Washington, Jefferson, Bibb, Twiggs, Wilkinson, Johnson, Emanuel, Peach, Houston, Bleckley, Laurens, Treutlen, Pulaski, Wilcox, Dodge, Telfair, Wheeler, Montgomery and Toombs counties): Patchy dense fog is cutting visibility to less than one-half mile. Fog is expected to lift after 10 AM.
• Southeast Georgia, inland and coastal (Coffee, Jeff Davis, Bacon, Appling, Wayne, Atkinson, Pierce, Brantley, Ware, Charlton, Glynn and Camden counties, among others): Dense Fog Advisories are in effect until 9 AM, with visibility at one-quarter mile or less.
• Northeast coastal Georgia (Jenkins, Screven, Candler, Bulloch, Effingham, Tattnall, Evans, Long, Bryan, Chatham, Liberty and McIntosh counties): A Dense Fog Advisory runs until 9 AM, with the same quarter-mile visibility threshold.
• Turner, Ben Hill and Irwin counties: A Dense Fog Advisory is in effect until 9 AM.
• The I-10 corridor northward into southeast Georgia: A Special Weather Statement warns that fog is causing visibility to drop sharply and unevenly — conditions can change dramatically within short distances. Improvement is expected between 8 AM and 9 AM. Forecasters say Dense Fog Advisories may still be needed for parts of inland southeast Georgia near the Altamaha River Basin.
• Southeast Georgia and the South Carolina Lowcountry: A Special Weather Statement notes fog has begun developing and could become locally dense. A Dense Fog Advisory may be issued for parts of that area.

What this means for you: If you are driving in any of these areas Wednesday morning, slow down, use your headlights on low beam, and leave more room than usual between your car and the vehicle ahead. Conditions can shift quickly, especially near the coast and river corridors.