South Queensferry or San Francisco? Stunning images show dense weekend haar on the east coast

The creep of Scotland’s heavy fog and mist on an otherwise warm and bright bank holiday weekend has been captured in a range of breath-taking images.

Despite the presence of fog and mist on Scotland’s east coast on Saturday night and Sunday morning, brighter, sunny intervals were set to break through the cloud as the day goes on.

With temperatures in the high teens expected for most of Scotland over the next two days, those living in east coast areas such as Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Fife are hoping to see the haar lift in the early afternoon.

Images on social media showed almost no visibility in some areas on Saturday evening and Sunday morning as the haar rolled across sites like the Fairmont St Andrews golf course, the Forth Bridge and Queensferry Bridge.

What is ‘haar’?

Haar, or 'sea fret' as it is also known, is used to describe a cold fog that accumulates at sea, rather than on land.

It occurs most commonly on the east coasts of Scotland and England during the spring and summer months as warmer air sweeps over the chilly North Sea, recreating the colder, mistier climate often seen in Scandinavian countries.

A warm and sunny day by the Queensferry Crossing yesterday afternoon (Saturday May 29) was met with a wall of fog rolling across the Forth bridges as the night closed in.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.