It's a tale of two climates across the Sacramento region: dense Tule Fog locking the valley under a cold, gray blanket, while the foothills enjoy clear skies and warm sunshine.

Residents in Sacramento woke up to thick fog again Thursday morning.

"It's beautiful, just cold. Very cold today," said Rosemary De La Torre, who was out enjoying the foggy morning.

But just a short drive up the hill in Auburn, it felt like another world.

"I'm feeling great, not so chilly in the sun," said Edward Johnson, soaking in the clear skies.

Meteorologists say the culprit is Tule Fog, a dense, ground-hugging fog unique to the Central Valley. It forms when nights are cool and clear, moisture is abundant, and a strong temperature inversion traps cold, moist air near the ground

That inversion acts like a lid on a pot, keeping the fog from mixing out.

CBS Sacramento meteorologist Bryan Scofield says it will take a meaningful change to break the pattern.

"We really have to move high pressure to get this fog out," he said. "The warmer layer above and cooler layer below is trapping it like a lid on a pot, and it's not going to bust until we get a system in here."

In the foothills, many residents say the sun has been a welcome change after weeks of gloom.

"It felt like we were living in the movie The Mist for a little bit, just couldn't see anything," said Auburn resident William Haslett.

Others say Auburn has hit the weather sweet spot.

"We're up in Auburn, above the fog, below the snow, so it's great to see that for a change," Johnson added.

If you're tired of the fog, Scofield says clearer days are coming, but not quite yet.

"The end is near, but it's not here just yet," he said. "You'll notice some changes over the weekend, but more so next week when another system moves in."

Right now, the "sunshine line" sits around 1,200 feet, where drivers can climb out of the fog and into blue skies.