What the app shows you
Full FogCast score, fog type, chase-or-skip verdict, and 10-day outlook — all in the app.
Get LightCast Suite on iOS
Know before you drive: FogCast checks the conditions that produce photogenic fog
Get more than a snapshot of current conditions. The LightCast app unlocks everything to plan ahead
Humidity alone isn't enough. Wind alone isn't enough. Cloud cover alone isn't enough. Photogenic valley fog requires several conditions to line up at once, and most weather apps don't read them together.
Set a FogCast threshold once. The app will alert you when conditions at your saved locations look promising, so you're not manually checking at 4am.
Don't waste a sunrise drive. Check FogCast before you leave.
Download on the App StoreCape Disappointment sits at the mouth of the Columbia River where it meets the Pacific Ocean, one of the most dramatic and fog-prone coastal locations in the Pacific Northwest. The collision of the cold Pacific with the warmer river outflow creates persistent advection fog that rolls in from the ocean and blankets the cape for days at a time in fall and winter.
Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, built in 1856, is the primary photography subject: the white tower emerging from Pacific fog above the basalt cliffs is a classic coastal composition. North Head Lighthouse, a few kilometers up the coast, offers a different angle with longer approach views. The viewpoints above the surf line give dramatic perspectives when fog rolls in over breaking waves.
Fall and winter are the primary fog seasons, from October through March, when Pacific marine layer is most persistent. The cape is exposed and often windy, so calm foggy mornings are worth checking for. Summer can also bring morning marine layer before it burns off by midday.