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 Perpetua is a dramatic headland on the central Oregon coast rising 245 meters directly from the Pacific, one of the highest points accessible by road on the Oregon coast. The cape sits directly in the path of the summer Pacific fog machine — the California Current draws cold water upwelling along the coast, and the warm air above the ocean surface condenses into marine fog that rolls onshore in dense banks. From the cape overlook, fog can be seen advancing from offshore and pouring over the headland itself.
The Cape Perpetua Overlook gives wide views south and north along the rocky coastline, and when marine fog is present the sea stacks and rocky shores below disappear and reappear as the fog advances and retreats. Thor's Well and Spouting Horn at the cape base are exceptional low-tide fog photography subjects when marine mist softens the light and long exposures blur the surge. Summer, June through August, is the most reliable season for Pacific coast marine fog at Cape Perpetua, with fog often present at dawn and clearing by mid-morning.
Oregon coast marine fog is driven by the Pacific High and temperature contrasts between the cold California Current and warm onshore air. Fog is most reliable when winds are light from the northwest or west overnight. If a marine layer is present offshore by evening, it is very likely to move onshore by pre-dawn. The fog often clears 5 to 10 kilometers inland by 10 to 11am as solar heating warms the coast.