Mayor Asks Residents to Stop Naming Fog Banks Without Permits

Mayor Elian Sore asked residents Saturday to stop naming fog banks without municipal permits, saying the informal practice has begun to interfere with emergency dispatch, school delay notices, and the city's ability to treat low visibility as a condition rather than a person with needs.

At a morning briefing partly obscured by an unnamed marine layer, Sore said City Hall had recorded 47 unlicensed fog names since April, including Leonard, Soft Rebecca, Principal, The Gray Uncle, and a slow-moving formation near Voss Avenue that several residents had independently begun calling Tom.

"Fog is a public condition, not a group project," Sore said. "Once a fog bank has a name, people expect the city to know where it is, what it wants, and whether it has been this way before."

Under the proposed ordinance, residents may name fog only after visibility falls below three blocks, the fog remains in place for more than 18 minutes, and an Atmospheric Identification Form is filed with the clerk before noon. Names would be reviewed for duplication, emotional burden, and ease of pronunciation over sirens.

Administrative Concerns

The mayor said the issue escalated last week after police received simultaneous calls reporting that "Leonard was back," "Rebecca had entered the school zone," and "Principal looked angry by the pharmacy." Dispatchers initially opened three incidents before determining that all reports described the same low gray mass moving west at a speed city officials characterized as "unhelpful but not criminal."

Public Safety Director Halden Pri said unauthorized names make it difficult to issue advisories without sounding as though the city is assigning motive to weather.

"When we tell residents that Principal is limiting visibility near the depot, we create questions about age, authority, and whether Principal has cleared a background check," Pri said. "Our preference is to say fog."

The Office of Atmospheric Identification would maintain a public registry of approved fog names, with reserved categories for severe fog, civic fog, and commemorative fog sponsored by families who have lost visibility in a meaningful way. Duplicate names would be returned with a correction sheet and a brief reminder that mist is not property.

Public Response

Several residents defended the practice, saying named fog is easier to discuss with children, pets, and windows that seem unusually involved.

"My daughter was afraid of the fog until we called it Bernice," said North Ward resident Mina Pell. "Now she waves to it, which I understand may be administratively premature."

Others said the city should focus on potholes, transit delays, or the unnerving number of mornings when fog appears to know which porch has unresolved mail.

Sore said enforcement will begin with education. Residents who name fog without a permit will receive a warning, a laminated guide to neutral atmospheric language, and, for repeat violations, a temporary suspension from metaphor during weather events.

City Hall will hold two listening sessions this month, weather permitting and assuming no one names the weather before staff arrives.