Can whiteout/snowstorm conditions be coupled with heavy fog?
In a story I am working on, I need a scene in which one of the main characters finds himself outside in precarious weather conditions, unable to see unaided much farther out than an armlength or so.
For the purposes of this question the setting is essentially our Earth, and my draft geographical location (which isn't vitally important; I can fairly easily change this if it's easier to make it work somewhere else, as there aren't many outdoors-settings-sensitive scenes and much of what I've done is in a sort of prototyping stage anyway) is somewhere in the far northern or northeastern parts of Canada. The time of year is tentatively mid-February, which means temperatures in the range -30 to -35 °C are not at all unreasonable and anywhere down to about -45 °C might well be plausible if there is a bit of a cold spell. At the time and place I have in mind currently the sun is just around the horizon.
I've been considering having Our Hero outside at a time when the weather shifts from quite decent (just cold) to strong wind with heavy snowfall (basically a white-out), possibly coupled with a fog to further reduce visibility.
- Is a (preferably quickly developing or approaching, but I'll take what I can get) fog realistic at those temperatures? Is there any particular setting element, or earlier weather, which would increase or decrease the realism of that? (Presence or absence of bodies of water, lowland/highland/flatland/mountainous region, recent shift in weather conditions, ...)
- Is combining a fog with a snowstorm (or at least strong wind, which can be put into service to whirl up snow on the ground from recent snowfall) realistic? Again, is there anything in particular which can affect the realism of it?
Bonus question:
- Are there any particular, probable effects of those conditions on soon-to-follow weather which I should take into consideration for the following scenes for the depiction to be as realistic as is reasonably possible?
What I want is the situation described at the top. Answers which address how to put the character in such a situation, if they explain why my idea won't work, are also welcome.
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