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Fog tosses blanket onto holiday flight plans Holiday travelers sit and wait as flights are delayed due to fog. By Peter Wong of the Mail Tribune Fog made an unwelcome return Friday, foiling air travelers hoping to leave or arrive in Medford in time for Christmas. But as flights to and from the airport were once again canceled, diverted or delayed -- which may continue for a few more days -- many would-be passengers appeared to be taking it in stride. "This is Medford weather," said Inkun Oh, owner of the Japanese restaurant in Medford that bears his name. "Every year it happens during Christmas." With luggage at his side in the airport lounge, he waited for an early afternoon flight of United Airlines to San Francisco, where he would catch a flight to New York. His early-morning shuttle was canceled. A United flight from San Francisco was diverted to Redding, Calif., where passengers would board a bus for a three-hour trip to Medford. The fog that bedeviled flights in and out of the Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport Monday and Tuesday disappeared Wednesday, largely on the strength of a southeast wind of 10 to 20 mph. "But I think we can expect a repeat of fog," said Chuck Glaser, a hydrologic-meteorological technician with the National Weather Service in Medford. "The southeast wind is not materializing, at least up at this end of the valley, which is the hardest area for it to reach. So you can expect a couple more days of this -- or maybe more. Otherwise, nothing else is going on." The forecast through Tuesday calls for clearing in the afternoons, temperatures between the mid-40s and mid-50s, and cold nights with lows dipping into the teens. Winds will be light. Fog collects when an air inversion develops. The lack of wind during an inversion causes cold air to collect on the valley floor. As the air cools, moisture condenses and the fog thickens. For Tom and Pat Hawn of Scottsdale, Ariz., Medford's fog caught them coming and going. They were headed to Medford earlier this week for the funeral of his uncle, James Plymell, when their plane was turned back to Portland after it circled Medford for 30 minutes. They finally arrived from Portland by bus. After the funeral at Sacred Heart Catholic Church and the burial at Eagle Point National Cemetery, both on Thursday, the Hawns were waiting for a Horizon Air flight to Portland, where Alaska Airlines would take them back to Phoenix. "It's always sunny and warm there," Pat Hawn said. Having lived in Eugene, Tom Hawn said he is used to fog. "But it was considered great progress for the pioneers to get up to Grants Pass in a day's travel," he said. "So all we are is spoiled." Horizon Air reported at least three cancellations of early-morning outbound flights -- two to Portland and one to Seattle-Tacoma -- and two of inbound flights from Portland and Seattle-Tacoma. A late-morning flight from Portland turned back. Bill Johnson of Central Point was waiting for his son on that flight. "Well, I guess I'll go home and wait for a phone call from him," Johnson said. "Maybe I should have brought my cell phone; he may be trying to reach me." His son lives in Utah and flew from Salt Lake City to Portland without problems. "At least he got to Oregon," Johnson said. "But I doubt they will bus him from Portland. I'll see him maybe the day after Christmas." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA