By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-03 22:46:50 | Updated at 2025-01-05 20:53:40
1 day ago
A thick, 'mysterious' fog has descended upon a wide swath of the US, sparking fears of another 'Operation Sea Spray.'
For one week in September of 1950, the US Navy sprayed massive amounts of bacteria into the air two miles off the coast of San Francisco, California.
The aim of this secret biological warfare experiment was to learn how vulnerable large US cities like San Francisco would be to a biowarfare attack by terrorists.
The bacteria used were Serratia marcescens, which can cause respiratory issues and meningitis, and Bacillus atrophaeus that can be lethal immunocompromised individuals. At the time, the Navy believed these bacteria were harmless to humans.
But when Bay Area residents began rushing to the hospital, it became clear that was not the case.
After inhaling thousands of bacterial spores, 11 people checked into Stanford Hospital near San Francisco with very rare, serious urinary tract infections that doctors ultimately determined were caused by the experiment.
One patient, a man named Edward Nevin who was recovering from prostate surgery at the time, died.
Now, 75 years later, some Americans fear this may be happening again as they claim an 'unnatural' fog with a 'burning chemical-like smell' has plagued their communities in recent weeks.
A thick, 'mysterious' fog has descended upon a wide swath of the US, sparking fears of another 'Operation Sea Spray'
David Bamber from St Petersburg, Florida said the 'weirdest part' is the taste and smell of the fog. It smells like the aftermath of the fireworks show and it tastes 'toxic'
Concerned citizens have flooded social media with videos of what looks like white particles raining down and swirling in the air.
Some witnesses have also claimed the fog has triggered health symptoms similar to a respiratory illness.
A Florida resident told DailyMail.com that they stopped at a gas station for about 10 minutes and began feeling ill.
'Within about and hour, I kept sneezing over and over for about three hours, and my eyes were really puffy,' she said.
'I got very warm and I felt like I had a fever, and my stomach was cramping.'
A woman in Kansas also shared that there were 'massive amounts of chemtrails' over the area in a week, followed by a dense fog.
And a California resident shared on X Monday: 'Here in SoCal, unusual fog the last few days. Strange smells, but I've been noticing the smell for months now, burns my nose. Seems like an all-out assault from the skies the last few days.'
Parts of Texas, Wisconsin, Iowa, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Florida, and Minnesota were under fog alerts when the bizarre reports surfaced this week.
For one week in September of 1950, the US Navy sprayed massive amounts of bacteria into the air two miles off the coast of San Francisco, California. One type was Serratia marcescens
A Florida resident told DailyMail.com that they stopped at a gas station (pictured) for about 10 minutes and began feeling ill. She then went into a coughing fit and had a fever
Conspiracy theories are running rampant with people suggesting the fog could be a kind of chemical weapon or is related to the drones that mysteriously plagued the nation in December
Similar experiences have also emerged from parts of Canada and the UK, sparking widespread concern.
Conspiracy theories are running rampant with people suggesting the fog could be a kind of chemical weapon or is related to the drones that mysteriously plagued the nation in December.
The latest theory is that the US Government is behind the fog, potentially testing out a new type of biological weapon similarly to Operation Sea Spray.
'Guys, they dumped a bunch of microbes on the country this week, in the form of fog,' one X user posted Tuesday.
'I know it sounds tin-foil, but my Spidey senses are telling me they are seeding the skies with pathogens that make us sick. Operation Sea-Spray 4.0 (December 24-31, 2024).'
Another asked: 'Did we just suffer another Operation Sea Spray event - The Fog?'
However, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a dense fog advisory for multiple states at the time these reports arose, suggesting there is a scientific explanation for the fog.
While the fog's 'white particle' appearance may seem unusual, fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface.
While fog typically looks like a soupy gray mist, shining a light directly through it causes the light to scatter off of each individual water droplet that makes up the fog
As for the 'chemical' smell people have been describing, fog can absorb and trap polluted air near Earth's surface, making their scents more potent
Shining a light in the fog makes these particles visible.
As for the 'chemical' smell people have described, the fog can absorb and trap polluted air near the Earth's surface, acting as a carrier for car exhaust, industrial emissions and other airborne chemicals.
'When fog forms, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and other polluting gases are taken up or 'scavenged' by fog water droplets,' explained Rudolf Husar, a Washington University atmospheric scientist, in an article for NASA Earth Observatory.
What's more, smells become more potent in humid air because the water droplets trap the odor-causing molecules and allow them to linger for longer and remain concentrated.
This is not unusual for this time of year.
Fog forms when the temperature cools to the dew point, or the temperature at which air can become completely saturated with water.
Much of the fog currently hanging over the US is likely advection fog, which typically forms in winter when warm, moist air flows over colder land.
This is commonly seen over the southern or central US, where many affected states are located.
Some states, such as Minnesota, are also experiencing radiation fog that occurs in air with a high dew point.
It forms when the sky is clear, temperatures reach the dew point and winds are low enough to cause minimal atmospheric mixing.
While fog typically looks like a soupy gray mist, shining a light directly through it causes the light to scatter off of each individual water droplet that makes up the fog, reflecting that light back towards your eyes.
This makes each droplet appear as a small 'particle' within the beam of light, as is shown in many of the photos and videos recently shared online.
The 'chemical' smell associated with this recent fog is likely not coming from the fog itself, but rather from pollutants that were already present in the air when the fog formed.
The respiratory-illness-like symptoms people have been reporting can also be explained by natural fog.
Multiple studies have shown that fog can cause respiratory issues such as coughing, shortness of breath, chest pain, congestion and wheezing, especially in people with asthma.
That's because our lungs are are designed to inhale oxygen, not water. When we inhale the increased moisture content of the air, it can irritate the respiratory system and trigger uncomfortable symptoms.
Fog can be especially irritating when it is mixed with airborne pollutants, allergens or other particles.
Thus, this 'mystery' fog isn't so mysterious after all. People across the US are most likely experiencing a perfectly normal winter weather event, as there is no evidence to suggest otherwise at this time.
