Dense Fog in Florida, December 9, 2001

Name: Dense Fog in Florida, December 9, 2001
Start: 2001-12-09T04:00
End: 2001-12-09T09:00
Location: Florida

December 9, 2001 · NWS TBW · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

Light east winds and ample surface moisture helped create a swath of early morning dense fog across west central Florida early on the 9th. Visibility was reduced to near zero in many locations, with many observing points recording 1/4 mile or less.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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 TBW wrote it up.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Tampa Bay, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 9, 2:37 AM EST, 1 hour 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 9, 2:37 AM EST, 1 hour 23 minutes before

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
237 AM EST SUN DEC 9 2001

WHATS LEFT OF THE FRONT APPEARS TO BE SOMEWHERE BETWEEN TALLAHASSEE
AND MARIANNA.  THERE REALLY IS VERY LITTLE TO PUSH THIS FURTHER
SOUTH AT LEAST TODAY.  THE REMNANTS OF OLGA IS NOW SITTING JUST
WEST OF BUOY 42003 AND BASED ON THAT BUOY...BUOY 42001 AND THE IR SAT
PIX IT MAY HAVE A WEAK SURFACE CIRCULATION.  AT THE VERY LEAST IT IS
A PRONOUNCED WAVE.  THE SYSTEM IS ALSO HELPING TO KICK OFF SOME
CONVECTION IN THE EASTERN GULF...ALTHOUGH SHOWERS OVER OUR COASTAL
WATERS DO NOT SEEM TO BE DIRECTLY ASSOCIATED WITH IT.  WINDS ALOFT
OVER THE EASTERN GULF WILL BE ON THE INCREASE IN ADVANCE OF THE SHORT
WAVE THAT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE GULF COAST STATES ON MONDAY.  THIS
WILL BE A NEGATIVE TO ANY DEVELOPMENT BUT THE APPROACHING SHORT WAVE
WILL HELP LOWER PRESSURE OVER THE EASTERN GULF...IN AN EXTRATROPICAL
SENSE.  BECAUSE OF DECREASING PRESSURES WINDS WILL BACK AROUND TO
SOUTHEAST AND EAST LATER TODAY AND MONDAY.  PRESSURE AT 42003 IS
ALREADY LOWER THAN THE MODELS PAINT AT 1012.4 MB AT 07Z.  BASED ON
THIS SCENARIO MOISTURE CONVERGENCE SHOULD BE AT ITS BEST CLOSER TO
THE COAST AND I WILL INCREASE POPS AT THOSE LOCATIONS.

ANY SURFACE LOW THAT DEVELOPS SHOULD MOVE TO THE NORTHEAST AND WILL
PULL SLIGHTLY DRIER AIR INTO THE AREA...AT LEAST THE NORTHERN PART OF
THE AREA...WELL MAYBE LEVY COUNTY BY TUESDAY.  BUT DONT LOOK FOR A
BIG COOL DOWN. THE RIDGE ALOFT BUILDS IN ADVANCE OF A LONGWAVE TROUGH
DIGGING INTO THE SOUTHWEST U.S. THE SURFACE RIDGE BRIDGES ANY
BOUNDARY KEEPING THE DRY AIR PINNED UP TO OUR NORTH.  THEN THE
SURFACE WINDS VEER AROUND ENOUGH TO PUSH THAT DRY AIR WELL NORTH OF
THE AREA BY LATE WEDNESDAY.

IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT THE AVN IS MUCH MORE AGGRESSIVE WITH
THIS NEXT FRONT LATE IN THE WEEK.  IT IS MORE PROGRESSIVE WITH THE
LONGWAVE TROUGH THAN IT WAS THE PREVIOUS RUN.  BUT CONSIDERING ITS
RECENT TRACK RECORD WITH BRINGING FRONTS THROUGH I WILL LEAN TOWARDS
THE CONSERVATIVE SIDE AND JUST SHOW A TREND OF SLIGHTLY COOLER
TEMPERATURES LATE IN THE WEEK.

PRELIMINARY NUMBERS

TPA 081/069 081/068 3232
FMY 083/068 083/068 3232

.TBW...NONE.

SOBIEN

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, Hardee

When: December 9, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Hardee forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 27.493, -81.810 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense Fog, Sarasota

When: December 9, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Sarasota forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Dense Fog, Manatee

When: December 9, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Manatee forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Dense Fog, Hillsborough

When: December 9, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Hillsborough forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Dense Fog, Pinellas

When: December 9, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Pinellas forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 27.903, -82.739 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense Fog, Polk

When: December 9, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Polk forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 27.949, -81.698 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense Fog, Pasco

When: December 9, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Pasco forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Dense Fog, Sumter

When: December 9, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Sumter forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 28.705, -82.081 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense Fog, Hernando

When: December 9, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Hernando forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Dense Fog, Citrus

When: December 9, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Citrus forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Dense Fog, Levy

When: December 9, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Levy forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

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 Florida in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Florida, December 2001

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: 5274814, 5274815, 5274816, 5274817, 5274818, 5274819, 5274820, 5274821, 5274822, 5274823, 5274824.