Pacific Airshow battles fog on day one in Huntington Beach
A persistent marine layer caused issues on the first day of the Pacific Airshow in Huntington Beach, before the sun broke through in the middle of the afternoon, and the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds closed out the first day of action.
Prior to that, the flights were delayed. In some instances, spectators at the beach near the Huntington Beach Pier reported hearing the noise above but not seeing the planes, though those a bit inland said skies were sunny there.
“It was just foggy all day, we saw almost nothing,” said Huntington Beach resident Melissa Johnson in a message from the beach. “Sun is finally out at 3 p.m. and we are waiting to hear what is happening.”
Air show officials put out a message on its Instagram page shortly after 1:30 p.m., stating that intermittent fog was delaying the action.
“A minimum cloud ceiling of 1,000 [feet] and visibility of three miles is required for certain performers to safely perform for you,” the statement said. “Our Airboss team and performers are working to get as many acts airborne as possible.”
Once the skies cleared up, spectators were treated to the U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor demonstration team, before the Thunderbirds closed the show.
The three-day Pacific Airshow, one of the largest air shows in the world, is scheduled to continue on Saturday from about 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Performance schedules will be released in the morning.
Huntington Beach weather conditions called for more fog on Friday night and Saturday morning. Sunday could offer the most ideal conditions, with a forecast of partly cloudy skies.
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