Dense Fog in Florida, February 1, 2001

Name: Dense Fog in Florida, February 1, 2001
Start: 2001-02-01T03:00
End: 2001-02-01T08:30
Location: Florida

February 1, 2001 · NWS TBW · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Patchy dense fog reduced visibility to less than a quarter mile over portions of Lee, Charlotte and Sarasota counties.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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.

Patchy dense fog reduced visibility to less than a quarter mile over portions of Lee, Charlotte and Sarasota counties.

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 Jan 31, 7:51 PM EST, 7 hours 9 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 31, 7:51 PM EST, 7 hours 9 minutes before

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
751 PM EST WED JAN 31 2001

88D RETURNS INDICATE A LARGE AREA OF RAIN WITH EMBEDDED TSTMS MOVING
ONSHORE THE FL WEST COAST FROM CLEARWATER NORTH TO SUWANNEE RIVER
EARLY THIS EVENING. WEAK UPPER VORT LOBE MOVING EAST FROM THE GULF
AND ATTENDANT WEAK SURFACE LOW MOVING NEWD ALONG A STATIONARY FRONT
AND UPPER DIVERGENT FLOW WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT BULK OF POPS
THROUGH MIDNIGHT PRIMARILY ALONG AND TO THE NORTH OF THE FRONTAL
BOUNDARY. AFTER THAT MAY SEE A BRIEF BREAK IN PRECIP UNTIL NEXT WEAK
VORT LOBE MOVING EAST BEGINS TO INCREASE POP CHANCES AGAIN AFTER
MIDNIGHT INTO THURSDAY MORNING.

WITH THIS IN MIND PLAN TO BUMP UP POPS ACROSS CITRUS...SUMTER...
HERNANDO...AND PASCO COUNTIES BASED ON 88D RETURNS FOR THE REST OF
THE EVENING HOURS. IN ADDITION WILL ALSO BUMP UP POPS A LITTLE IN MY
WEST CENTRAL COASTAL ZONES TO ACCOUNT FOR THE SRN EXTENT OF CURRENT
PRECIP AREA. IN ADDITION TO POPS...ELEVATED DEW POINTS AND LESS CLOUD
COVER ACROSS SOUTHERN ZONES WILL LIKELY LEAD TO OVERNIGHT FOG
DEVELOPMENT...SOME OF WHICH COULD BECOME LOCALLY DENSE AFTER
MIDNIGHT...SO WILL ADD MENTION OF IN UPDATE.

ON THE MARINE SIDE...WILL KEEP NORTH-SOUTH SPLIT TO THE ZONES TO
ACCOUNT FOR S-SWLY FLOW ACROSS SRN ZONES AND NE-ELY FLOW ON NRN SIDE
OF FRONTAL BOUNDARY. ONGOING AND EXPECTED GRADIENT OVERNIGHT SHOULD
KEEP WIND AND SEAS BELOW ADVISORY CRITERIA LEVELS WITH NO REAL
CHANGES EXPECTED.

.TBW...NONE.

MCMICHAEL

Event by event

3 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.

Dense Fog, Charlotte

When: February 1, 3:00 AM EST to 8:30 AM EST
Where: Charlotte forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Dense Fog, Lee

When: February 1, 3:00 AM EST to 8:30 AM EST
Where: Lee forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Dense Fog, Sarasota

When: February 1, 3:00 AM EST to 8:30 AM EST
Where: Sarasota 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, February 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: 5235079, 5235080, 5235081.