FogCast · Palouse, WA
Fog Forecast for Palouse
Know before you drive: FogCast checks the conditions that produce photogenic fog
Reading current conditions…
🔒 App Exclusive
The full FogCast forecast is in the app.
Get more than a snapshot of current conditions. The LightCast app unlocks everything to plan ahead
- 📈 Full FogCast score (0–100)
- 📅 7-day fog outlook
- 🌅 Best photography windows
- 🔔 Push alerts when conditions improve
- ⭐ Save favorite locations
Download LightCast on iOS
7-day free trial · $2.99/mo
Why fog is hard to predict
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.
Dew Point Depression
When air temperature and dew point converge below 2°C, the air is near saturation. This is the single strongest fog predictor and the first thing FogCast checks.
Wind Speed
Fog needs calm air. Below 5 km/h is ideal. Above 15 km/h, fog disperses before it can pool in the valley. A standard weather app won't flag this combination.
Overnight Sky Clarity
Clear overnight skies let the ground cool rapidly, pushing surface temperatures toward the dew point. Counterintuitively, clouds overnight suppress radiation fog.
Temperature Trend
FogCast reads the overnight temperature arc. If temps are converging toward the dew point hour by hour, fog probability increases significantly by pre-dawn.
Check today's FogCast
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
Get notified instead of checking every morning
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.
⏰
Wake up only when conditions look promising
🚗
Avoid wasted drives when fog never forms
⭐
Save your favorite photography locations
🌫️
Never miss a rare dense fog event
Fog photography at Palouse
The Palouse is a rolling agricultural landscape of wheat and lentil fields in eastern Washington and northern Idaho, shaped by ancient loess deposits into smooth, sweeping hills unlike almost anything else in the Pacific Northwest. The landscape sits at 600 to 900 meters and has minimal tree cover, which means radiation fog — when it forms — has nowhere to hide. Fog drapes the curved hillsides and pools between ridges, and because there's no forest canopy to block the view, the effect from any high point is a sea of rolling white broken only by the hilltops.
Steptoe Butte, a 1,000-meter quartzite outcrop rising above the surrounding farmland, is the definitive fog photography vantage point in the Palouse. When a fog inversion fills the valleys below, the hilltops emerge as islands in a white sea with the butte above them all. The effect is most common from October through February. Sunrise is the best window — fog usually lifts by 9 or 10am as temperatures climb.
Palouse fog is most reliable after wet autumn rains raise soil and air moisture, followed by a clear, cold, calm night. Check the evening dew point: if humidity stays high past midnight with calm winds and a clear sky, Steptoe Butte is worth the pre-dawn drive.
Other fog photography locations
Frequently asked
Can I check FogCast on the website?
This page shows a preview of current conditions, including humidity, wind, temperature, and dew point. The full FogCast score, 7-day outlook, push notifications, and best shooting windows are available exclusively in the LightCast app for iOS.
Is FogCast free?
The current conditions preview on this page is free, no account needed. The full FogCast tool is in the LightCast Suite iOS app, which includes a 7-day free trial. After the trial it's $2.99/month, cancel anytime in the App Store.
Why use FogCast instead of checking humidity?
Humidity alone doesn't tell you whether photogenic fog is likely. High humidity with strong wind produces no fog at all. FogCast combines dew point depression, wind speed, overnight sky clarity, temperature trend, and visibility into a single score built specifically for fog photography planning.
What is FogCast's scoring scale?
FogCast scores fog conditions from 0 to 100. A score of 75 or above indicates dense fog is expected. 55 to 74 means fog is likely and worth chasing. 35 to 54 suggests patchy mist is possible. Below 35, conditions are unlikely to produce photogenic fog. The full score is available in the LightCast app.
