Florida, 2001

Wildfire in Florida, May 13 to 31, 2001

May 13 to 31, 2001 · NWS TAE · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 wildfire, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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

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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 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 Tallahassee, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 13, 12:34 PM EST, 3 hours 26 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 13, 12:34 PM EST, 3 hours 26 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
134 PM EDT SUN MAY 13 2001

SYNOPSIS: SURFACE ANALYSIS AND VISIBLE SATELLITE PIX SHOW THE FRONT
PUSHING THROUGH OUR GA AND AL ZONES EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. IT SHOULD
BE NEAR THE FL BORDER AROUND 19Z AND TO THE COAST A FEW HOURS LATER.
CU FIELD DEVELOPED AS ANTICIPATED AHEAD OF THE BOUNDARY.

MODEL DISCUSSION: ERN U.S UPPER LEVEL THROUGH AXIS SLIDES OFF THE
ERN SEA BOARD TONIGHT WITH AN UNSEASONABLY STRONG UPPER LOW CUTTING
OFF SE OF CAPE COD MON. THIS FEATURE EVENTUALLY DOES A LOOP OFF THE
NEW ENGLAND COAST MID TO LATE WEEK. THE SE CONUS REMAINS IN DRY NW
FLOW ALOFT THROUGH THE PERIOD WITH SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE IN CONTROL.

PUBLIC FORECAST: MOSTLY SUNNY DAYS AND CLEAR NIGHTS ARE ON TAP FOR
THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. TEMP GUIDANCE LOOKS REASONABLE AND A BLEND
WILL BE USED. EXCEPTION WILL BE MON NIGHT WHEN WE WILL UNDERCUT
GUIDANCE TEMPS A BIT DUE TO IDEAL RADIATIONAL COOLING CONDITIONS.

MARINE: N WINDS BECOME NE TONIGHT AND THEN LIGHT AND VARIABLE BY MON
NIGHT AS SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS OVER THE WATERS. WIND
TRANSITION TO WSW FOR TUE THROUGH THU. WE COULD SEE SCEC CONDITIONS
BY LATE WED OR THU AS GRADIENT TIGHTENS AHEAD OF THE BACK DOOR
FRONT...BUT WILL KEEP FORECAST JUST BELOW CRITERIA FOR NOW.

FIRE WX: LOW RH DURATIONS MAY BE MARGINAL THIS AFTERNOON...BUT HIGH
MIXING HEIGHTS WILL RESULT IN HIGH DISPERSION...SO WARNING LOOKS OK.
MIN RH WILL BE IN THE MID 20S AWAY FROM THE COAST MON...SO WATCH
WILL BE UPGRADED TO A WARNING WITH 1930Z ISSUANCE.

EXTENDED: MRF SHOWS THE BACK DOOR FRONT GETTING CLOSE ENOUGH TO
WARRANT MENTION OF SCATTERED SHOWERS OR STORMS AS EARLY AS LATE WED.
HOWEVER...THE 12Z AVN IS A LITTLE SLOWER...SO WILL LEAVE POPS OUT
FOR WED AT THIS TIME. THE FRONT REACHES OUR CWFA ON THU WITH ANOTHER
SYSTEM COMING DOWN IN THE NW FLOW FOR FRI. BY THE WEEKEND...THE MRF
SHOWS ANOTHER FRONT STALLING ACROSS THE TN VALLEY WITH RIDGING
SURFACE AND ALOFT. WILL KEEP WEEKEND FORECAST DRY.

PRELIM NUMBERS...

TLH  56 89 54 90  0000
PFN  63 85 60 83  0000
DHN  60 88 60 89  0000
ABY  58 86 56 90  0000
VLD  59 88 55 91  0000

.TLH...
AL...NONE.
GA...NONE.
FL...RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL SUNSET TODAY ALL BUT IMMEDIATE COAST
     FROM LEON/WAKULLA COUNTY WESTWARD.
     FIRE WX WATCH UNTIL SUNSET TODAY ALL BUT IMMEDIATE COAST
     FROM JEFFERSON COUNTY EASTWARD.
     RED FLAG WARNING MONDAY ALL BUT IMMEDIATE COASTLINE.

WOOL

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Lafayette

When
May 13, 4:00 PM EST to May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Lafayette County, Southeast Portion
Reported by
PARK/FOREST SERVICE
Coordinates
29.986, -83.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Mallory Swamp fire, ignited by lightning, consumed nearly 50,000 acres of brush and was 70 percent contained. The fire was bounded by County Roads 349 and 51 in Lafayette County, and County Road 351 and U.S. Highway 27 in Dixie County. State, county and U.S. Forestry Service personnel were involved in the firefighting effort. Haze from the fire's smoke covered areas from Lake City to Tallahassee. Reported by the U.S. Forestry Service and Florida Division of Emergency Management.

What these are

Wildfire
A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.

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, May 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: 5247511.