In The United States
In the western United States, ice fog may be referred to as pogonip. It occurs very rarely during cold winter spells, usually in deep mountain valleys. Ice fog can be quite common in interior and northern Alaska, since the temperature frequently drops below -40 °C (-40 °F) in the winter months. Pogonip only forms under specific conditions, the humidity has to be near 100% as the air temperature drops to well below 0 °C (32 °F), allowing ice crystals to form in the air. The ice crystals will then settle onto surfaces.
The word pogonip is derived from the Shoshone word paγi̵nappi̵h, meaning cloud. Supposedly, early settlers called it "white death" because they believed the crystals got into their lungs and caused death.
In The Old Farmer's Almanac, in the calendar for December, the phrase "Beware the Pogonip" regularly appears. In Smoke Bellew Jack London described Pogonip which happened to the main characters, killing one of them.
Read more about this topic: Ice Fog
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