Fog Engulfs Santa Bárbara Castle and Alicante's Skyline

On Tuesday morning, the skyline of Alicante vanished as a fog formation swept through the city, obscuring buildings and landmarks in its path. Among them was the Santa Bárbara Castle, swallowed by the mist.

This phenomenon is known as advection fog, which forms when warm, moist air moves over a cooler surface, causing water vapor to condense.

This effect is typical for April in Alicante, as it happened last year along the beaches, briefly concealing the Serra Grossa.

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From early Tuesday, the fog was visible around Cabo de la Huerta. As time passed, it advanced towards the city's coastline, enveloping the quarry promenade and Serra Grossa.

After engulfing the mountain, the mist continued through Alicante, covering the Raval Roig neighborhood, Santa Bárbara Castle, and the Gran Sol Hotel.

As it progressed, the rooftops of buildings disappeared completely, leaving the city flat. The same occurred with the Alicante building on Doctor Gadea promenade, whose top floors remained shrouded in fog.

Advection fog occurs due to a thermal clash between surface air and water temperature, which "remains cold," notes Jorge Olcina, Professor of Regional Geographic Analysis at the University of Alicante and director of its Climatology Laboratory.

The expert points out that the Mediterranean in Alicante "has not yet reached the values we will see from May and June." During these weeks, the sea temperature ranges between 17 and 18 degrees.

Thus, when air above 25 or 26 degrees comes into contact with the sea, "under these conditions, advection fogs are generated." This is why, when a warm air mass settles over it, fog forms, "those layers of low clouds"; which dissipate by mid-morning "when the sun heats up."

The proximity of the sea to Alicante's coast causes these weak mists "to penetrate a few meters inland for a few hours."