Dense Fog in Florida, February 10, 2001

Name: Dense Fog in Florida, February 10, 2001
Start: 2001-02-10T05:00
End: 2001-02-10T09:00
Location: Florida

February 10, 2001 · NWS TBW · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

Patchy dense fog reduced visibility to less than a quarter mile over portions of West Central and Southwest Florida.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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: 9

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 West Central and Southwest Florida.

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 Feb 10, 3:30 AM EST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 10, 3:30 AM EST, 1 hour 30 minutes before

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
330 AM EST SAT FEB 10 2001

06Z SURFACE ANALYSIS INDICATED A COLD FRONT WITH A THIN PRECIP BAND
THAT EXTENDED FROM NEAR PANAMA CITY SOUTHWEST INTO THE NORTHERN GULF
OF MEXICO.  MEANWHILE...SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE...WITH RIDGE AXIS THAT
EXTENDED EAST TO WEST ACROSS CENTRAL FLORIDA...MAINTAINED FAIR SKIES
OVER THE CENTRAL AND SOUTH FLA PENINSULA.

00Z SKEW-T ANALYSIS INDICATED THAT SOUTHEAST FLOW IN THE FIRST 5K OF
THE ATMOSPHERE OVER WEST FLORIDA...SHOULD INCREASE THROUGH 10K LATE
TODAY BASED ON UPSTREAM SOUNDINGS.  ALTHOUGH LOW-LEVEL CONVERGENCE
EVIDENT OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTH FLORIDA...SKEW-T OBSERVED PRECIPITABLE
WATER LEVELS NOMINAL WHILE ATMOSPHERE RELATIVELY STABLE.

THIS MORNINGS MODEL ANALYSIS INDICATED THAT APPROACHING COLD FRONT
WILL EVENTUALLY LAY DOWN ACROSS NORTH FLORIDA AS MID AND UPPER LEVEL
FLOW BECOMES ZONAL OVER THE NEXT 24 TO 48 HOURS. AREAS FROM HERNANDO
COUNTY NORTHWARD WILL SEE A 20-30 PERCENT RAIN CHANCE TODAY. AS THE
FRONT STALLS ACROSS NORTH FLORIDA...EXPECT WESTERN ATLANTIC HIGH
PRESSURE RIDGE TO REASSERT ITSELF ACROSS THE SOUTH AND CENTRAL FLA
PENINSULA THROUGH REMAINDER OF THE WEEKEND INTO THE MIDDLE OF NEXT
WEEK. ALSO...MID AND UPPER LEVEL FLOW PATTERN WILL REMAIN ZONAL
ACROSS THE PENINSULA FOR THE NEXT 5 TO 7 DAYS.

THUS...EXPECT ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES...HIGHER LOW LEVEL RELATIVE
HUMIDITY AND LIMITED RAIN CHANCES TO CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL
DAYS ACROSS WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA.

OF NOTE...EXPECT AFTERNOON SEA BREEZE TO DEVELOP ALONG THE WEST FLA
COAST THROUGHOUT THE FORECAST PERIOD DUE TO SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE
RIDGE...MAINLY NORTH OF TAMPA BAY...AND LAND/SEA TEMPERATURE
GRADIENT. HOWEVER...LOCALIZED LOW-LEVEL FORCING...AFTERNOON HEATING
AND LIMITED LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE MAY HELP INITIATE MINIMAL CONVECTION
ALONG SOUTHWEST FLORIDA COAST BY MID-WEEK.

PATCHY OVERNIGHT DENSE FOG WILL ALSO BECOME A PROBLEM SUNDAY NIGHT
THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK DUE TO EXPECTED LIGHT OVERNIGHT
SURFACE WINDS AND FAVORABLE DEWPOINTS.

PRELIMINARY NUMBERS

TPA BB 080/061W 080/062 080 0---
FMY BB 084/062 084/062 084 00-0

.TBW...NONE.

ZALESKI

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.

Dense Fog, Levy

When: February 10, 5:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Levy forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Dense Fog, Charlotte

When: February 10, 5:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Charlotte forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Dense Fog, Citrus

When: February 10, 5:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Citrus forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Dense Fog, Hernando

When: February 10, 5:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Hernando forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Dense Fog, Highlands

When: February 10, 5:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Highlands forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 27.343, -81.341 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense Fog, Lee

When: February 10, 5:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Lee forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Dense Fog, Pasco

When: February 10, 5:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Pasco forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Dense Fog, Polk

When: February 10, 5:00 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, Sumter

When: February 10, 5:00 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)

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: 5235185, 5235186, 5235187, 5235188, 5235189, 5235190, 5235191, 5235192, 5235193.