Broome disappears into thick fog as WA wet season nears

A thick blanket of fog engulfed Broome, in Western Australia's far north, this week with visibility limited to less than 50 metres. 

The weather bureau said it was a sign the tropical dry season had come to an end, and the hot semi-arid Broome climate was on the precipice of entering the wet season. 

Residents heading about their morning activities on Wednesday described the "eerie" magical feeling of being surrounded by dense fog. 

Cable Beach blanketed 

Broome resident Hilary Wilkins described a strange scene on Wednesday morning.

"When I woke up, it was suspiciously quiet out there; normally you can hear aircraft taking off where I live," she said. 

"So I got in the car to go to the beach with the dog and it was absolutely thick fog, dripping off the roof."

Once Ms Wilkins was on the beach, she saw yacht masts "sticking out of the fog" as the sun was rising, catching glints of light. 

"As I walked down the beach there was this really cool, what I call a fog bow, it's literally like a rainbow, but with the blue sky coming through the fog," she said. 

"I thought, 'This will be a cracking shot if I can get the dog in the middle of the bow.'"

Jane Meade was also walking her dogs on the beach and said her visibility was as little as 30 metres. 

"It's really eerie because with the fog being so thick, you can stand on the beach and not actually see anything,"

she said.

"It reminds me of my travels overseas being in the USA and waking up in the morning listening to the foghorns in Santa Barbara."

What causes fog?

BOM senior forecaster Jonathan How said fog formed due to the amount of moisture in the air and when night temperatures fell.

At the weather bureau, fog is measured if visibility falls below 300 metres, with anything above that considered mist. 

The visibility on Wednesday got below 50 metres at Broome Airport and persisted for nine hours, soaking Broome up to the Dampier Peninsula. 

Mr How said it was typical this time of year, as Broome headed towards the wetter months. 

"So certainly people might be noticing a bit more fog on the forecast over the next few days and weeks," he said. 

"Hopefully everyone enjoyed the dry season because the humidity is really starting to pick up."

Mr How said safety concerns on the road should be considered and advised people to drive to conditions and take precautions.

He said seeing how fog affected different parts of WA's vast state was interesting, reaffirming it was indeed the "Kimberley's turn" for this weather occurrence.

"Western Australia spans tropical climates in the north and then cool Mediterranean South," he said. 

"So not surprisingly, we do see quite a variation in climate across the state, not just month-to-month, but also day-to-day."

Yawuru seasons

Broome's traditional owners, the Yawuru people, have six different seasons relating to the changes in climate. 

These are Man-gala, Marrul, Wirralburu, Barrgana, Wirlburu and Laja.

The current season is Wirlburu, aligning with the re-emergence of foggy morning as the weather slowly starts to warm up. 

Coco Yu from the Yawuru Language Centre said Wirlburu was a short transition season.

"The two big seasons for us are wet season, which is Man-gala, and the cold season was just Barrgana, and then we have these little ones in between usually connected to wind," she said. 

"Wirlburu could last for one or two weeks, it's just one of those little things when sea breeze starts to blow and the day starts to warm up a bit."

Ms Yu said she felt awareness around Yawuru seasons was growing in the community.

Wirlburu was everyone's favourite season, according to Ms Yu, because the combination of sun and breezes were a relief before it got too hot.