Dense fog redeveloped over South Carolina overnight on 3-4 December 2014, and as noted in the Forecast Discussion below, its character was just a bit different than on the previous night.

000
FXUS62 KCHS 040239
AFDCHS

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
939 PM EST WED DEC 3 2014

.SYNOPSIS…
UNDER A WEAKENING WEDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE…FOG WILL PERSIST TONIGHT.
ANOTHER AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD FROM THE NORTH THURSDAY THROUGH
FRIDAY. A WARM FRONT WILL THEN LIFT ACROSS THE AREA ON SATURDAY…
BEFORE A COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT. AN INLAND WEDGE
OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL BECOME ESTABLISHED SUNDAY AND MONDAY…FOLLOWED
BY THE PASSAGE OF ANOTHER COLD FRONT MONDAY NIGHT. HIGH PRESSURE
WILL THEN PREVAIL INTO THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.

&&

.NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM THURSDAY MORNING/…
WHILE THE SCENARIO IS QUITE DIFFERENT FOR FOG TONIGHT COMPARED TO
LAST NIGHT…DESPITE PLENTY OF CIRRIFORM CLOUDS /SOME OF WHICH ARE
OPAQUE/…WE ARE STILL GETTING AREAS OF FOG TO FORM. SOME OF THE
FOG IS ALREADY DENSE…ESPECIALLY IN THE CHARLESTON QUAD COUNTY
AREA AND ALONG OUR COASTAL ZONES SOUTH INTO MCINTOSH. THIS IS A
MIX OF STRATUS BUILD-DOWN AND ADVECTIVE FOG FROM OFF THE ATLANTIC.
SO WE LOOK FOR A FURTHER EXPANSION OF THE FOG INLAND TO THE WEST
OF I-95 THROUGH THE NIGHT. DENSE FOG ADVISORIES WILL THEREFORE
REMAIN IN EFFECT.

GOES-based GOES-R IFR Probabilities, hourly from 2315 UTC 3 December through 1015 UTC on 4 December as well as observations of ceilings (AGL) and visibilities (Click to enlarge)

GOES-R IFR Probabilities, above, (click here for an animation with a faster dwell rate) once again capably outlined the region of IFR conditions over South Carolina. Probabilities are lower when Satellite data cannot be used as a predictor, as when cirrus clouds prevent the satellite from viewing water-based clouds closer to the surface. In such cases when only Rapid Refresh model data can be used as Fog Predictors, the fields take on a flatter, less pixelated character as above. There are a few regions where breaks in the cirrus cloud allow Satellite predictors to be incorporated in the IFR Probability fields, for example along the South Carolina coast at 0600 UTC. When high clouds are present, interpret the magnitude of the IFR Probability in a different way than when high clouds are absent. An IFR Probability of 55% in a region of cirrus clouds has a different meaning than an IFR Probability of 55% in a region of only low clouds.

Because of Cirrus clouds, the brightness temperature difference fields gave almost no information about the presence of low clouds. See the animation below (a loop with a faster dwell rate is here).

GOES-13 Brightness Temperature Difference Fields (10.7µm – 3.9µm), hourly from 2315 UTC 3 December through 1015 UTC on 4 December, as well as observations of ceilings (AGL) and visibilities (Click to enlarge)