Before-and-after images from space: Tule fog smothers a huge swath of California

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California’s Central Valley has been enshrouded in mist for more than a week thanks to the area’s infamous Tule fog.

The image below shows California as seen from space by a National Aeronautic and Space Administration satellite system . On the left is what the state looked like on Oct. 29, 2025 — before a major storm brought record-setting rainfall — and on the right is the same view on Nov. 27, in the middle of the days-long stretch of Tule fog.

Technically known as radiation fog , the weather phenomenon is the result of a combination of “a cool, moist layer of air from the Pacific close to the surface, clear skies above and light winds,” according to the National Weather Ser