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USA Today
10-06-2025
- Climate
- USA Today
A fog-free San Francisco? Scientists ponder California's climate future
A fog-free San Francisco? Scientists ponder California's climate future Nearly 70% of Californians live in coastal counties, which figure to be most impacted by diminished fog. Show Caption Hide Caption Climate change is now impacting where Americans choose to live Many U.S. locales have reached a climate change "tipping point." Populations are declining as flooding becomes unbearable. SAN FRANCISCO – As most of the U.S. sweltered in mid-July 2022 − when temperatures in many major cities reached the high 90s and even triple digits − a national weather map showed San Francisco topping out at 65 degrees. It was just a typical foggy summer day in the city by the bay, which averaged 62 degrees that month, about the same as the next two Julys. Now the advent of climate change raises the question of whether summertime visitors will stop rushing out to buy sweatshirts upon arrival and instead feel perfectly comfortable in shorts and T-shirts. The future of San Francisco's iconic fog has been debated in media stories during recent years, and some experts note a diminished cloud cover along the California coast that could lead to a warming trend. But few if any detect signs that San Francisco's summer chill is going away like the once-celebrated Fog City Diner, which shut down at the end of May. 'From the data, I can't foresee it any time soon,'' said Rachel Clemesha, a project scientist with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California-San Diego who studies the state's coastal climate. 'There are years when there's more or less cloud cover. The last couple of years have been within that range. It is a very foggy place, so it would be very dramatic to get you a fog-free city.'' Data on decreasing fog along coast is 'spotty' Clemesha said some decrease has been confirmed in Southern California in what residents there call the marine layer, mostly in highly urbanized areas, but nothing that applies statewide. Peter Weiss, a faculty researcher and lecturer at the UC-Santa Cruz department of environmental sciences, said that despite a growing narrative of waning fog along the California coast, the data to support it is 'very spotty,'' with few academic studies in the last decade. The reasons include the fog's unpredictability – Weiss calls it an 'ephemeral phenomenon'' – and the lack of a standard way to measure it. Some studies, such as the landmark analysis by James Johnstone and Todd Dawson in 2010, rely on airport visibility records. Others use satellite images to determine the extent of the cloud cover, and others yet believe water content is a more valuable gauge. The airport records are the most extensive, going back to 1950, and Weiss said from that year until 2012 they revealed a 5% decrease in fogginess. 'Nobody's quite sure why,'' he said. 'It probably has to do with the ocean's sea-surface temperature, and that goes through various phases. Overall, there's warming due to global warming, but it's episodic. There appears to be some pattern with less fog after the warmer sea-surface temperatures, but this is still an area of research.'' Many California residents, ecosystems would be affected While the scientific community endeavors to figure out the long-range impact of climate change on California's coastal fog, there's a strong consensus that diminished cloud cover would have a harmful effect. Nearly 27 million of California's 39 million residents – close to 70% – live in coastal counties, by far the largest total in the nation, and they generate 80% of the state's gross domestic product. Their lives are certain to be impacted, as would be the state's powerhouse agriculture industry, which totals close to $60 billion a year in revenue. Species such as the widely admired coastal redwoods, which get up to 40% of their yearly water intake from fog, could be threatened if that resource dwindled. Daniel Fernandez, an environmental sciences professor at Cal State Monterey Bay, is part of a group seeking a grant from a private foundation to study how climate change may alter fog and affect various ecosystems. 'You could have significant die-off of species that are dependent on the fog at locations where it gets reduced,'' he said. 'It would also change how people live. When you look a fog zones, you don't need air conditioning. There are a lot of things we don't need that we take for granted. Those things could all change.'' It can feel like living in a cloud The fog, more prevalent in the summer, is created when warm and moist air sweeps over cold waters, which are churned off the California coast by strong winds in what's known as upwelling. The marine cover can be light enough to simply cool down a warm day and thick enough to wet residents' hair and obscure their eyeglasses, giving the impression they're living in a cloud. Some years the fog is thicker than others, but it tends to be more extensive in Northern California than the state's southern coast because of the differences in their ocean temperature (colder in the north), latitude and topography. Ian Faloona, a professor of land, air and water resources at UC Davis, said he and a colleague conducted a study using regional climate models and found a downward trend in cloudiness along the coast, but agrees the overall evidence 'is not going to hit you over the head.'' He compares that to the abundant data indicating California in general is warming quickly, about 1 degree Celsius – 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit – per decade. Even San Francisco is heating up a bit, though not nearly as fast: Its average summer temperature has risen by 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit since 1970, according to the independent research group Climate Central. Two different perspectives on what the future holds But climate scientists are split over whether the increased heat will lead to less fog because the air over the ocean won't be cold enough to condense, or whether stronger winds will atone for that factor. 'Under climate change, we know the land is warming much faster than the ocean, so that temperature difference across the land and ocean interface is increasing, which could drive stronger winds, which could help preserve this cloudiness,'' Faloona said. 'So there are two arguments you could make about what we theoretically think should happen, and which one's winning out I think is still an open scientific question.'' Sara Baguskas, an assistant professor at San Francisco State University with a specialty in coastal fog, said the lack of conclusive evidence that it's ebbing should not induce complacency but rather stimulate funding to study and predict its patterns. She's among the climate researchers who have heard from longtime coastal residents saying the marine layer has subsided over the years. 'So it's not unreasonable to be concerned about coastal fog declining in the future, but it diminishing completely is unlikely,'' she said. 'No coastal fog in California is a scary thought for both people and ecosystems.''
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Popular California Diner Announces Sad Closure After 40 Years
A San Francisco dining staple closed last weekend after four decades in business. The Fog City Diner, which rebranded to simply Fog City in 2013, shut down on Friday after 40 years of service. Opened in 1985, the eclectic eatery was a beloved part of the San Francisco dining scene right up to its final day. 'With a heavy heart, I share some difficult news. Fog City has closed permanently with the last day of service being May 30, 2025,' the restaurant said on social media. "Thank You for the 40 years of patronage!" Longtime customers gathered in the comments section to mourn the abrupt shuttering of the Embarcadero institution. "THIS is how you announce it?? Fog City deserved better," one woman wrote. "Wow!! 8yrs spent out there tending bar!! Will miss everyone I worked with or served. Cheers!!" said a former employee. "This breaks my heart. Loved this spot and for so many years!! ❤️" added a third person. "What an amazing run, job well done friends! You have so much to be proud of," chimed in a fourth commenter. Co-founded by Bill Higgins and Bill Upson, Fog City was an immediate hit after opening four decades ago. In 1993, the establishment became somewhat famous when it was featured in the movie So I Married an Axe Murderer, starring Mike Myers, Nancy Travis and Phil Hartman. "The location of our FOG CITY restaurant is steeped in history — one that goes back way beyond the 1985 opening of the original Fog City Diner," says the diner's official website. "From feeding hungry sailors before they shipped out to serve in WWII to housing a railroad building servicing trains in San Francisco's first railways, and acting as a docking point for ships during the Gold Rush, this site has always been an integral part of the rich tapestry of San Francisco history." Popular California Diner Announces Sad Closure After 40 Years first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 3, 2025
Miami Herald
02-06-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Legendary diner featured in Visa commercial closes after 40 years
The restaurant industry is extremely competitive, and the survival rates over five and 10 years could make some ambitious dining entrepreneurs think twice about entering the business. The chance of a restaurant surviving its first year in business is pretty good, with about 83.1% of new restaurants making it through their first year unscathed, according to statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, reported. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter However, the business gets tougher as the years pass, and only 51.4% of restaurants survive five years in the business, according to bureau statistics. Related: Major restaurant chain quietly closes several locations Operating a restaurant for 10 years gets even harder, as the survival rate shrinks to 34.6% of eateries staying in business for a decade. Major restaurant chains tend to have the financial backing to remain in business for years until financial distress gets so great that some companies need to file for bankruptcy and close locations. Several chains facing economic challenges filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed several restaurant locations last year. Red Lobster in May 2024 filed for bankruptcy and closed 187 locations. It emerged from Chapter 11 in September 2024 and now operates about 478 locations in 44 states. Italian restaurant chain Buca di Beppo filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Aug. 4, 2024, to reorganize its business with the support of its lenders, after closing 13 underperforming locations. TGI Fridays had 161 U.S. locations when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Nov. 2, 2024, to reorganize and close restaurants. The chain closed 76 locations over the next five months and was operating 85 U.S. locations by April 2025. Independent restaurants frequently close as well, including one well-known business that operated for 40 years. Legendary San Francisco restaurant Fog City, one of the city's most popular establishments in the 1980s and 90s when it was known as Fog City Diner, permanently closed its business on May 30 after serving customers for 40 years. Related: Pizza chain credited for popular pizza style closes locations "With a heavy heart, I share some difficult news. Fog City has closed permanently with the last day of service being May 30, 2025. Thank you for the 40 years of patronage," Fog City's Brett Maurice said in a statement on the company's website. The restaurant opened in 1985 as Fog City Diner with a shiny chrome exterior and a large blue neon sign, and it remained popular through the end of the 20th century. More closings: Popular retail chain to close unprofitable store locationsBankrupt retail chain unloads store leases, key assetPopular discount retailer files bankruptcy, closes all stores Fog City Diner's popularity was fueled by national exposure from a 1990 Visa credit card commercial that described the restaurant as "elegant as a formal dining car" and encouraged customers to try their red curry mussel stew or grilled chicken with roasted peppers. The commercial also advised diners to "leave your troubles behind, but bring your Visa card, because at Fog City, they take things easy but they don't take American Express." The restaurant was also featured in the 1993 film, "So I Married an Axe Murderer," starring Mike Myers. But as the new millennium progressed, the restaurant was re-imagined by its founders Bill Higgins and Bill Upson, according to Fog City's website. "Maintaining the energy and approachable spirit of the beloved original, Fog City offers innovative menus in a sophisticated, warm and open space created by Bay Area architect Michael Guthrie. The shiny chrome exterior was replaced with a wood exterior in different shades of brown and a new name on the building, Fog City, in 2013. The building's location is steeped in history, according to the Fog City website. Before Fog City Diner opened, it had been occupied by other establishments, including a restaurant that served sailors before being shipped out in World War II, a railroad building servicing trains in San Francisco's first railway, and as a docking point for ships during the California Gold Rush. Related: Iconic Baskin-Robbins local ice cream rival closes after 40 years The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
San Francisco Chronicle
01-06-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
S.F. landmark Fog City diner closes permanently after 40 years on the Embarcadero
Fog City, the landmark restaurant that helped launch San Francisco's small plates movement and once defined the modern American diner, closed its doors Friday after four decades in operation. 'With a heavy heart I share some difficult news,' read a message posted by the restaurant on social media. 'Fog City has closed permanently with the last day of service being May 30, 2025. Thank you for the 40 years of patronage!' The closure was unannounced, and no reason was provided. Opened in 1985 as Fog City Diner by restaurateurs Bill Higgins and Bill Upson, the eatery became an immediate part of the city's dining landscape with its whimsical Pat Kuleto design and the inventive cuisine of chef Cindy Pawlcyn. Over the years, its neon signs and bold, globally inspired menu helped cement its place in San Francisco's culinary lore. Though Pawlcyn departed more than a decade ago, a 2013 overhaul saw the diner reimagined as simply Fog City, with a sleeker look by architect Michael Guthrie and a revamped kitchen led by chef Bruce Hill. Hill introduced dishes such as wood-oven roasted chicken with kimchi butter, utilizing his patented chef's press, a stainless steel tool that weighs down food to even out cooking times. Located at 1300 Battery St., the site itself has a layered history — once a roundhouse for trains, then a World War II-era cafeteria, and later a gathering spot for longshoremen. When it was still known as Fog City Diner, the restaurant appeared in Visa commercials, Farley comic strips, and the 1993 Mike Myers film 'So I Married an Axe Murderer.'
