Florida, 2002

Frost and Freeze in Florida, February 28, 2002

February 28, 2002 · NWS TBW · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

A late season arctic high pressure system dropped into the southern Plains states on the 27th and 28th, and northerly winds ushered unseasonably cold air into West Central Florida. Temperatures fell below freezing from Tampa Bay north, with the coldest readings across Levy and Citrus County.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
7

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.

A late season arctic high pressure system dropped into the southern Plains states on the 27th and 28th, and northerly winds ushered unseasonably cold air into West Central Florida. Temperatures fell below freezing from Tampa Bay north, with the coldest readings across Levy and Citrus County. Low temperatures ranged from 20 to 25 degrees in Levy County, 25 to 30 elsewhere north of Tampa Bay, and 28 to 32 in the immediate northern and eastern suburbs of Tampa. Values remained just above freezing from urban Tampa Bay to points south. Minor damage may have occurred to cold sensitive houseplants which were not protected. However, the nearest notable crop damage was well north of the area, where temperatures briefly fell into the teens.

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 27, 9:07 PM EST, 3 hours 53 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 27, 9:07 PM EST, 3 hours 53 minutes before
WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
907 PM EST WED FEB 27 2002

CURRENTLY...SKIES ARE CLEAR AND TEMPS ARE TUMBLING...ESPECIALLY
WHERE SFC WINDS HAVE SLACKENED.  READINGS ARE GENERALLY BETWEEN 35
AND 40 INLAND AND 40 AND 45 NEAR THE COAST.  WIND CHILL VALUES ARE
NEARING CRITERIA IN ADVISORY AREA WHERE WINDS ARE RUNNING NEAR 10
MPH.

DISC...ALL SYSTEMS GO FOR POTENTIALLY DAMAGING FREEZE OVERNIGHT.
PLAN NO CHANGE TO CURRENT ZFP AS FORECAST MINIMA LOOK RIGHT ON
TARGET.  READINGS COULD BE A SHADE COOLER ACROSS THE NATURE COAST
(HERNANDO THROUGH LEVY COS)...AND WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE
SOME UPPER TEENS OVER COLDER INTERIOR LOCATIONS.

AS FOR WIND CHILL VALUES...WITH LAND BREEZE ENHANCEMENTS EXPECTED
TOWARD DAYBREAK NEAR THE COAST...AND A CONTINUED BREEZE BETWEEN 5 AND
10 MPH (WITH LOCAL GUSTS) OVER INTERIOR PORTIONS CENTRAL AND S...
PREFER TO HANG ONTO ADZY IN ALL ZONES WHERE IT CURRENTLY EXISTS.

FOR THE UPDATE...WILL REFRESH BOTH NPWS.  THESE WILL BE AVBL BY 930
PM.

MARINE:  WINDS DOWN IN THE 10-15 KT RANGE AS NNW FLOW CONTINUES.
HOWEVER...EXPECT LAND BREEZE ENHANCEMENT AFTER 2 AM OR SO WITH WINDS
AVERAGING AT OR JUST ABOVE 15 KT FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE NIGHT.
IN ADDITION...SEAS ARE STILL RUNNING NEAR 8 FT AT THE BUOYS.  WILL
DROP BACK TO EXERCISE CAUTION FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE NIGHT.

SOME RECORD LOWS FOR FEBRUARY 28...
TAMPA...30 IN 1935
LAKELAND...30 IN 1935
ST. PETERSBURG...32 IN 1935
FORT MYERS...35 IN 1935

.TBW...SMALL CRAFT EXERCISE CAUTION BONITA BEACH TO SUWANNEE RIVER
       OUT TO 60 NM...INCLUDING TAMPA BAY.
    ...WIND CHILL ADVISORY COASTAL PASCO...PINELLAS...
       HILLSBOROUGH...POLK...MANATEE...HARDEE...SARASOTA...DESOTO...
       HIGHLANDS...CHARLOTTE...AND LEE COUNTIES.
    ...HARD FREEZE WARNING LEVY CITRUS HERNANDO SUMTER AND INLAND
       PASCO COUNTY.
    ...FREEZE WARNING COASTAL PASCO...PINELLAS...HILLSBOROUGH...
       POLK...MANATEE...HARDEE...SARASOTA...DESOTO...HIGHLANDS...
       CHARLOTTE...AND INLAND LEE COUNTY.
    ...FIRE WEATHER WATCH ALL ZONES THURSDAY AFTERNOON.

88/GOLDSMITH

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 frost/freeze. Local standard time, as filed.

Frost/Freeze, Levy

When
February 28, 1:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where
Levy forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Frost/Freeze, Citrus

When
February 28, 2:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where
Citrus forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Frost/Freeze, Hernando

When
February 28, 2:00 AM EST to 8:00 AM EST
Where
Hernando forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Frost/Freeze, Sumter

When
February 28, 2:00 AM EST to 8:00 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)

Frost/Freeze, Pasco

When
February 28, 3:00 AM EST to 8:00 AM EST
Where
Pasco forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Frost/Freeze, Hillsborough

When
February 28, 4:00 AM EST to 8:00 AM EST
Where
Hillsborough forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Frost/Freeze, Polk

When
February 28, 4:00 AM EST to 8:00 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)

What these are

Frost/Freeze
Frost or temperatures at or below freezing during the growing season, usually filed for crop damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Florida in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, February 2002

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: 5282870, 5282871, 5282872, 5282873, 5282874, 5282875, 5282876.