Dense Fog in Florida, February 28, 2001

Name: Dense Fog in Florida, February 28, 2001
Start: 2001-02-28T06:00
End: 2001-02-28T08:30
Location: Florida

February 28, 2001 · NWS TBW · 1 event in 1 county or zone

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

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 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 28, 2:20 AM EST, 3 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 28, 2:20 AM EST, 3 hours 40 minutes before

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA  RUSKIN FL
220 AM EST WED FEB 28 2001

WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS.  THE ONLY DIFF
WILL BE A TURN IN THE LOW LVL WINDS TO THE W...WHICH WILL PUSH ANY
CONVECTION E OF THE CWFA.  THE W WINDS WILL ALSO WARM CENTRAL FL
SOME 8 DEGREES HIGHER THAN THE COAST.

MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT ONCE AGAIN WITH THE LARGE SCALE
FEATURES...BUT DIFFER IN THE DETAILS.  ALL SHOW A SLIGHT DROPOFF IN
H50 HEIGHTS...WITH SLIGHT SHIFT WEST OF THE RIDGE AXIS ALLOWING SFC
HIGH TO THE NW TO TRY AND SNEAK DOWN.  THE NGM TRIES TO TURN SFC
WINDS TO THE NNE TONIGHT...BUT BELIEVE THIS IS OVERDONE.  OVERALL...
I PREFER THE AVN'S DRY/WARM SOLN...A PERSISTENCE FCST.

SHORT TERM:  EACH DAY WILL FEATURE PARTLY/MSTLY SUNNY SKIES AND
EACH NIGHT MCLR (PERHAPS A FEW MORE CLDS N ZONES THU NIGHT) WITH
PATCHY FOG.  TEMPS JUST A TOUCH COOLER ON THURS.

EXTENDED:  CONTINUITY OF 00Z AVN IS QUITE GOOD FROM THE PAST TWO
RUNS.  THAT SAID...INCREASING S/SW FLOW WILL PUMP HIGH DWPTS...
EXCEEDING 70 AT TIMES...INTO THE REGION AHEAD OF THE FRONT.  FRI
WILL WARM UP A LITTLE...BUT BOTH FRI AND SAT NIGHTS WILL FEATURE
MORE CLOUDS AND WARM/HUMID CONDS.

WILL BUMP MAX TEMPS UP 3-7 DEG EACH PERIOD THROUGH SUN.
EXTRAPOLATION OF AVN IMPLIES NO CHANGES TO INCREASINGLY BLUSTERY
AND COOL FCST MON/TUE.

MARINE:  QUIET FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK...THEN A NICE BUILDUP
OF WIND AND SEAS AS W/CENTRAL GULF LOW TAKES SHAPE BY SAT.

FIRE WX: NO HIGHLIGHTS ANTICIPATED.  W TRANSPORT FLOW SHOULD BE JUST
LIGHT ENOUGH TO PRECLUDE RAPID SPREADING...BUT WILL NEED TO BE
MONITORED.
(
PRELIM NUMBERS:
TPA BB 080/062/079/063 1111
FMY BB 084/061/083/062 1111 88

.TBW...NONE.

GOLDSMITH

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Feb 28, 5:15 AM EST, 45 minutes before

FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-281300-

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
515 AM EST WED FEB 28 2001

NO HAPZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED TODAY.

BSG

Event by event

1 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.

Dense Fog, Levy

When: February 28, 6:00 AM EST to 8:30 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, 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: 5235350.