Dense Fog in Missouri, December 9, 1997

Name: Dense Fog in Missouri, December 9, 1997
Start: 1997-12-09T03:00
End: 1997-12-09T07:00
Location: Missouri

December 9, 1997 · NWS PAH · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

Widespread dense fog caused hazardous travel conditions during the early morning hours. Visibility was as low as a quarter mile in some areas.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 11

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS PAH wrote it up.

Widespread dense fog caused hazardous travel conditions during the early morning hours. Visibility was as low as a quarter mile in some areas.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.

Dense Fog, Bollinger

When: December 9, 3:00 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
Where: Bollinger forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.322, -90.026 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense Fog, Butler

When: December 9, 3:00 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
Where: Butler forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.716, -90.407 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense Fog, Cape Girardeau

When: December 9, 3:00 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
Where: Cape Girardeau forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.384, -89.684 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense Fog, Carter

When: December 9, 3:00 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
Where: Carter forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.941, -90.962 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense Fog, Mississippi

When: December 9, 3:00 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
Where: Mississippi forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.828, -89.291 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense Fog, New Madrid

When: December 9, 3:00 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
Where: New Madrid forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.595, -89.652 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense Fog, Perry

When: December 9, 3:00 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
Where: Perry forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.707, -89.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense Fog, Ripley

When: December 9, 3:00 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
Where: Ripley forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.653, -90.864 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense Fog, Scott

When: December 9, 3:00 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
Where: Scott forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.053, -89.568 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense Fog, Stoddard

When: December 9, 3:00 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
Where: Stoddard forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.856, -89.944 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense Fog, Wayne

When: December 9, 3:00 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
Where: Wayne forecast zone
Coordinates: 37.113, -90.461 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Dense Fog: Fog reducing visibility to a quarter mile or less, filed where it caused accidents or disruption.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Missouri in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in Missouri, December 1997

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5625396, 5625397, 5625398, 5625399, 5625400, 5625401, 5625402, 5625403, 5625404, 5625405, 5625406.