ELI5: Why does fog happen near lakes and rivers?

Imagine you're making a warm bath in winter. Steamy, right? That's kinda like what happens near lakes and rivers that makes fog.

• Water in lakes and rivers warms up during the day, especially in summer. It's like your bath!

• At night, the air gets cooler. Think of the cool air outside your warm bathroom.

• The warm water then evaporates. That means it turns into an invisible gas called water vapor, just like the steam from your bath.

• This warm, wet air rises above the water.

• When the warm, wet air meets the cold air, it cools down.

• Cool air can't hold as much water vapor. So, some of the water vapor condenses. That means it turns back into tiny, tiny water droplets.

• These tiny water droplets float in the air, making a cloud near the ground. We call this cloud fog.