Florida, 2001

Dense Fog in Florida, February 15, 2001

February 15, 2001 · NWS TBW · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

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

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 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 15, 2:00 AM EST, 4 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 15, 2:00 AM EST, 4 hours before
WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
200 AM EST THU FEB 15 2001

UPPER RIDGE REMAINS OVER THE AREA AS SFC RIDGE EXTENDS FROM THE W
ATLC OVER THE PENINSULA INTO THE GULF. NOT MUCH IN THE WAY OF LOW
CLOUDS AND FOG ATTM...BUT WITH CALM WINDS AND DEWPOINTS IN THE MID
60S COULD STILL SOME EARLY MORNING FOG. WARM AND MOSTLY CLEAR
TODAY/FRI WITH RIDGING SLOWLY SHIFTING E THRU FRI AHEAD OF
NEXT SYSTEM. MODELS A LITTLE SLOWER/WEAKER IN OUR AREA THAN PREVIOUS
RUNS WITH SHORTWAVE AND SFC LOW MOVING FROM THE S PLAINS
NORTHEASTWARD TRAVERSING RIDGE WITH ASSOCIATED SFC FRONT MOVING OVER
THE AREA SAT. AVN STRONGEST WITH SHEARED VORT MAX/LIFT SAT...WILL
TAKE MEDIAN GROUND AND KEEP MENTION OF SLIGHT CHANCE/CHANCE SHOWERS
IN FCST. FRONT PUSHES THRU S CWFA SAT NIGHT WITH SFC HIGH DROPPING
FROM THE PLAINS BRINGING COOLER AND DRIER CONDITIONS TO THE REGION
SUN/MON. HIGH TO SHIFT EAST WITH SEASONABLE TEMPS TUE/WED.

MARINE: HIGH PRESSURE ACROSS E GULF WATERS FROM THE WESTERN ATLANTIC
WILL SHIFT S/E THROUGH FRIDAY WITH COLD FRONT MOVING OVER THE WATERS
SAT. INCREASE IN SW WINDS AND SEAS AS GRADIENT TIGHTENS AHEdAD OF
FRONT. NW WINDS IN WAKE OF FRONT WITH HIGH BUILDING IN OVER THE GULF
SUN AND MONDAY.

PRELIMINARY NUMBERS:
TPA BB 082/064 081/064 0000
FMY BB 086/063 085/064 0000

.TBW...NONE.

RD

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Feb 15, 5:00 AM EST, 1 hour before
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-151400-

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
500 AM EST THU FEB 15 2001

...LOCALLY DENSE FOG OVER WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA THIS
MORNING...

AREAS OF FOG...SOME LOCALLY DENSE...HAVE AGAIN DEVELOPED EARLY THIS
MORNING AS ABUNDANT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE REMAINS OVER THE AREA. FOG MAY
REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO ONE QUARTER MILE OR LESS IN SOME LOCATIONS AND
CAUSE HAZARDOUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS. MOTORIST ON THE MORNING COMMUTE
SHOULD REDUCE SPEED AND USE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS AS VISIBILITY CAN
CHANGE RAPIDLY OVER SHORT DISTANCES. THE FOG IS EXPECTED TO BURN OFF
ANDP LIFT BY 10 AM.

Event by event

3 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.

Dense Fog, Sarasota

When
February 15, 6:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where
Sarasota forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Dense Fog, Charlotte

When
February 15, 6:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where
Charlotte forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Dense Fog, Lee

When
February 15, 6:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where
Lee 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

More

Every storm in Florida in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5235328, 5235329, 5235330.