The state of Louisiana often experiences foggy days during the cooler months, but this latest weather incident was no harmless fog. About a week ago, a thick and deadly ¨super fog¨ floated over southern Louisiana. As drivers made their way along Interstate 55, the view out of their windshields was reduced to an ominous cloud of black smoke. This caused a sickeningly long series of vehicles to collide, leaving the interstate looking like it had been struck by the apocalypse.
The National Weather Service is calling this weather phenomenon a super fog. It was caused by a specific combination of conditions, the foggy environment in southern Louisiana, and fires in the marshy wetlands east of New Orleans. This deadly mist became so abundant that drivers visibility and ability to breathe clean air became dangerously low.
This lack of visibility is what led to a huge pileup on Interstate 55, northwest of New Orleans. According to the Louisiana State Police Department, the awful crash involved a whopping 158 vehicles. While car accidents caused by poor visibility are not uncommon, one of this magnitude is definitely rare, and will leave a lasting mark on many lives in the New Orleans area. In the accident there were 7 fatalities and 63 more people left injured, many of whom are currently in critical condition. These numbers have only increased in the days following, as they identified more vehicles and injured persons at the site of the accident.
Despite the rising number of injured, the situation in New Orleans has overall improved in the time since the crash. The fog had begun to clear by the following morning, and is now gone completely. An increase in wind in this area has also reduced the chances of another super fog occurring. Additionally, there is an active effort to extinguish the marsh fires that produced much of the smoke that contributed to the conditions. All vehicles have been removed from the Interstate, and people can now get back on the roads and begin to heal from this tragedy.
