Fog

CHUNGUNGO, Chile -- Crouched in his thriving vegetable patch, Guido Alvarez whistles and sings as his trowel pokes the earth on the outskirts of this fishing village in northern Chile. The rows of vegetables give a green flush to this otherwise dry stretch of Pacific coastline."Look what money and science can do for people like us," he says. "It's a miracle that land that was once barren is now blooming."Chungungo is home to a pilot project that is raising hopes inrain-deprived coastal regions around the world.

Sam Spade might materialize out of San Francisco's fog to inspect a body sprawled in an alley. Sherlock Holmes could lecture Dr. Watson on the finer points of a case as they bounced in a carriage through London's mists.But dense fog in Baltimore, hon? That's not our cup of pea soup.Still, it was fog that crept in after a snowstorm that failed to deliver as much punch -- or inches -- as predicted in the Baltimore area.Not that the snow wasn't a problem for some Marylanders. Six inches fell in the state's westernmost counties of Garrett and Allegany; 4 to 6 inches in Washington, Frederick and Carroll counties; 1 to 3 inches in Howard, Harford and Cecil counties to the northeast; and as much as 3 inches in western and northern Baltimore County.

Snow, sleet and rain on Christmas Eve made roads slick in parts of the Baltimore area where officials temporarily shut parts of I-83 Christmas morning in the city. I-83 was reopened in the city before 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, police said, and traffic cameras showed light traffic. The National Weather Service issued a dense fog advisory shortly before 9 a.m. Tuesday for Northern Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick Harford, Howard and Washington counties. The agency cautioned that until noon, visibility could be less than one-quarter mile in spots, and suggested that motorists use low-beam headlights and leave plenty of distance between vehicles.

On the last Monday of September, my brother, my nephews and I were treated to an interesting morning on the water with a foggy mist surrounding us, a common occurrence for this time of year. Fog can be hazardous for the inexperienced boater, and one should not attempt to navigate in it without being familiar with the area and using a compass.Luckily, we made it about five miles down the river before the fog rolled in heavy. Crabbing in foggy conditions can be tranquil, and the sensation is one of floating through clouds comparable to looking out the window of an airplane.

The dense fog that has hampered holiday travel this week should ease today as more than 525,000 cars hit Maryland highways on the year's busiest travel day.For two consecutive mornings, motorists and commuters battled thick fog, and visibility was less than a mile for most of yesterday, tying up area roads."

The Mist, slack yet also bludgeoning, derives from a taut, skillful Stephen King novella about a "white and bright but nonreflecting" fogbank that sweeps through a small Maine town. It becomes increasingly terrifying in its "impartiality" and resistance to the normal influences of weather and environment. A few dozen town residents and tourists hole up in the local food market and discover that the mist hides a menagerie of giant, mutant-like man-eaters. Just as frightening as the fog of inter-species war from the outside is the fog of paranoia inside.

Heavy fog across much of central Maryland caused traffic tie-ups and airline delays and made the air feel like a wet sponge. But Jason Hume, 6, and Russell Lester, 9, of Roland Park, couldn't let last week's snow melt away without one more sledding expedition."

A Harford County school-bus driver was in satisfactory condition yesterday after a tree-removal truck smashed into the side of his vehicle in early morning fog in Norrisville, the county Sheriff's Office said. No students were aboard. The bus driver, James E. Whiteford, 69, of the 2700 block of Church Lane in White Hall, was driving south shortly before 7 a.m. on Norrisville Road (Route 23) when his bus was struck at Route 136, said sheriff's spokeswoman Ginger Rigney. The truck, driven by Randy Childress, 48, of the 300 block of Miller Road in Delta, Pa., was westbound on Route 136, Rigney said, adding that the truck struck the bus on the driver's side and caught fire.

Thick fog yesterday morning was a factor in several accidents around Maryland, including a crash in which a Montgomery County man was killed, a fatality in Baltimore County and an accident that seriously injured a driver in Carroll County.David Caulton, 33, of the 18000 block of Cottage Garden Drive, Germantown, was driving a 1992 Saturn south on Great Seneca Highway about 7:50 a.m. when the accident occurred, Montgomery County police said.Witnesses told police that Mr. Caulton apparently did not see a red light at Longdraft Road and hit a 1988 Ford Mustang driven by Donald Jason Springer, 16, of the 800 block of Pheasant Run Drive, Gaithersburg.

HAKUBA, Japan -- The skiers were in the start house. The crowd was roaring at the bottom of the Happo'one slope. And around the world, a vast audience was assembled in front of television sets, ready to watch the Super Bowl of the Winter Olympics.But the men's downhill -- due to be televised live to the United States last night -- was called on account of snow and fog.The first crisis to hit the Nagano Games happened about the time they were handing out the first medals to athletes over at women's cross country.