Dense Fog in Florida, February 17, 2001

Name: Dense Fog in Florida, February 17, 2001
Start: 2001-02-17T04:00
End: 2001-02-17T08:30
Location: Florida

February 17, 2001 · NWS TBW · 2 events in 2 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: 2

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 17, 3:50 AM EST, 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 17, 3:50 AM EST, 10 minutes before

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
350 AM EST SAT FEB 17 2001

LATEST RADAR IMAGES INDICATE ONLY A COUPLE OF THIN BANDS OF SHRA
ACROSS THE CENTRAL PANHANDLE AND INTO THE GULF...WHICH DOES NOT
BODE WELL FOR OUR RAIN PROSPECTS HERE LATER TODAY.

FRONT STILL ON TRACK TO REACH THE NORTHERN CWA AROUND 12Z...TAMPA BAY
AT 18Z AND THROUGH FMY REGION BY 00Z. HOWEVER...MAIN ENERGY IS MOVING
RAPIDLY NORTHEAST THROUGH NC WITH ONLY MINIMAL LIFT REMAINING ACROSS
FL. PW VALUES ONLY BRIEFLY RISE ABOVE 1" IN VICINITY OF THE FRONT...
SO REALLY ONLY EXPECTING A BROKEN LINE OF SHRA AT BEST WITH ONGOING
ADVERTISED POPS LOOKING GOOD. HIGH QUICKLY MOVES EAST ACROSS THE
NORTHERN GULF COAST STATES TONIGHT AND SUNDAY...BUT MOISTURE
WILL LURK JUST TO THE SOUTH OF THE CWA WITH MESO-ETA/ETA DEVELOPING
AN INVERTED TROUGH OFF THE EAST COAST ON MONDAY. NOT READY TO BUY
INTO A RAINY MONDAY...BUT WILL TREND IN A LITTLE MORE CLOUD COVER
THAN CURRENTLY INDICATED. TEMPERATURES WILL WARM THROUGH THE EXTENDED
BEFORE THE NEXT STRONGER LOOKING COLD FRONT APPROACHES ON THURSDAY.

MARINE...WIND AND SEAS STILL ON THE LIGHT SIDE ACROSS MOST OF THE
WATERS ALTHOUGH WINDS HAD PICKED UP ACROSS THE KEATON BEACH-CEDAR
KEY AREA. COULD GET VERY CLOSE TO SCA CONDITIONS ACROSS THE NORTH
BY AFTERNOON BEHIND FRONT...BUT WILL MAINTAIN SCEC ACROSS NORTHERN
LEG AND INTRODUCE SCEC ELSEWHERE FOR NOW. GRAIDENT HOLDS PRETTY
TIGHT ON SUNDAY AND MONDAY WITH IMPROVING CONDITIONS TUESDAY.

PRELIMINARY NUMBERS:
TPA EB 077/053 072/053 2000
FMY BB 081/060 077/055 -1--

.TBW...SMALL CRAFT EXERCISE CAUTION BONITA BEACH TO SUWANNREE
       RIVER OUT 60 NM INCLUDING TAMPA BAY.

67/SG

Event by event

2 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.

Dense Fog, Charlotte

When: February 17, 4:00 AM EST to 8:30 AM EST
Where: Charlotte forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Dense Fog, Lee

When: February 17, 4:00 AM EST to 8:30 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

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: 5235338, 5235339.