Fog causes more cancellations at Reno airport

RENO - Dense fog continued to cause major headaches for passengers at Reno-Tahoe International Airport.

The Reno area was blanketed in fog for an eighth straight day Sunday, all but shutting down the airport for a 141Ú2-hour period ending at 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

The fog caused at least 50 cancellations at the airport over that time, bringing to about 300 the number of cancellations since Jan. 16, spokeswoman Trish Tucker said. The cancellations have affected nearly 190,000 passengers.

"I think most people are getting wise about phoning the airlines and rebooking" for the afternoons when the fog temporarily lifts, Tucker said. "People are showing a lot of patience and it's been appreciated."

The National Weather Service extended a freezing- fog advisory through noon today.

Forecasters said a system should bring winds and rain to the Reno area and finally clear out the fog by Tuesday.

Forecasters said it was the foggiest week in the region since 1993 when fog persisted for 10 days.

Visibility has ranged from zero to a quarter mile during mornings and nights. Pilots need at least a mile of visibility to take off and even more visibility to land in mountainous areas such as Reno, Tucker said.

Fog and snow have combined to make it one of the most challenging winters in the Reno airport's history.

Thousands of passengers also were grounded after snowfall in late November and early January.

A series of powerful storms dumped as much as 6 feet of snow in late December and early January - the heaviest snowfall in Reno since 1916.