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Thick Melbourne fog reduces visibility to 100m

Anthony Sharwood
Image: Fog in the Melbourne area at 8:30am (AEST) on Tuesday, May 12, 2026. Source: Weatherzone
Image: Fog in the Melbourne area at 8:30am (AEST) on Tuesday, May 12, 2026. Source: Weatherzone

Most of Melbourne awoke to a dense layer of fog on Tuesday morning, with visibility as low as 100 metres in some parts of the city, including at Avalon and Moorabbin Airports.

Areas of fog also occurred elsewhere in Victoria overnight, and were relatively widespread across parts of three other states in southeastern Australia, with visibility down to:

  • 50m at Murrurundi, NSW (Hunter forecast district)
  • 50m at Cooma Airport, NSW (Snowy Mountains forecast district)
  • 100m at Launceston Airport, Tas (Central North forecast district)
  • 100m at Murray Bridge, SA (Murrylands forecast district)
  • 100m at Kingscote, SA (Kangaroo Island)
  • 100m at Warrnambool Airport, Vic (South West forecast district)

3-hour satellite loop up until 10:30am (AEST) showing fog slowly clearing in the Melbourne area. Source: Weatherzone

Image: 3-hour satellite loop up until 10:30am (AEST) showing fog slowly clearing in the Melbourne area. Source: Weatherzone.

Why was it so foggy overnight?

"The fog formed due to clear skies and light winds beneath a high pressure system," Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino explains.

These conditions allowed the air to cool to its dew point – the point at which air is fully saturated and water vapour condenses into tiny, suspended water droplets at ground level, better known as fog.

"In Melbourne, the dew point was around 9-10°C for most of the night. This morning's dew point temperatures were about 2-3°C above average for this time of year, which helped the fog develop," Domensino added.

Can more foggy mornings be expected this week?

Yes. A strong high pressure system currently centred over Tasmania is dominating Australia’s weather at present and is forecast to drift east slowly in coming days.

The position of the high will ensure that stable conditions persist for at least a couple more nights over much of southeastern Australia, meaning further foggy mornings are likely.

While it’s tough to pinpoint exactly where fog will form, many of the same low-lying areas and natural basins can expect the sort of ground-level fog seen on Tuesday, which will only clear as the day warms.

Fog over the Melbourne area with visibility in metres (the coloured numbers) at 8:20am on Tuesday, May 12, 2026. Note less fog in Melbourne’s north, where Melbourne Airport is located. That’s because Port Phillip Bay was a source of moisture that helped fog form. Source: Weatherzone.

Image: Fog over the Melbourne area with visibility in metres (the coloured numbers) at 8:20am on Tuesday, May 12, 2026. Note less fog in Melbourne’s north, where Melbourne Airport is located. That’s because Port Phillip Bay was a source of moisture that helped fog form. Source: Weatherzone.

Fog often causes delays at airports due to planes being unable to land or take off in low visibility. Air traffic was disrupted at several airports this Tuesday morning, including Avalon Airport between Geelong and Melbourne.

Because of the flat land required for runways, it’s an unfortunate reality of geography that airports are often located in fog-prone areas.

Image: Early morning fog over Melbourne on May 12, 2026. Source: @drone_buddy via Threads.

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