Dense Fog, Levy
- When
- January 20, 2:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- Levy forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Dense Fog in Florida, January 20, 2002
Light southwest flow embedded underneath an unseasonably warm and humid air mass, combined with cooled near shore water temperatures from a below normal prior two week period, resulted in widespread sea fog development over the extreme eastern Gulf of Mexico. This fog rolled onshore early on the 20th, reducing visibility to or below 1/4 mile in many areas.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 15
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.
Light southwest flow embedded underneath an unseasonably warm and humid air mass, combined with cooled near shore water temperatures from a below normal prior two week period, resulted in widespread sea fog development over the extreme eastern Gulf of Mexico. This fog rolled onshore early on the 20th, reducing visibility to or below 1/4 mile in many areas. The fog burned off in most areas by mid morning, but remained along the immediate coast through most of the day.
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 Jan 19, 8:05 PM EST, 5 hours 55 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 19, 8:05 PM EST, 5 hours 55 minutes before
WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 805 PM EST SAT JAN 19 2002 DESPITE MOSTLY TRANQUIL CONDITIONS...STILL A FEW PROBLEMS TO DEAL WITH FOR TONIGHTS WEATHER. THE FIRST HAS TO DO WITH THE LINE OF CONVECTION OVER THE PANHANDLE. LINE CURRENTLY WELL AHEAD OF MODEL PROJECTIONS BUT EXPECT OVERALL TREND OF DIMINISHING THE ACTIVITY LOOKS TO VERIFY. WILL KEEP 20 POP ACROSS LEVY AS RESIDUAL SHOWERS COULD MAKE IT INTO THE AREA. ALREADY SEEING A MORE EASTWARD PROPAGATION TO THE LINE RATHER THAN SOUTHEAST ON IR LOOP AS UPPER ENERGY SHIFTS NORTH. OTHER PROBLEM FOR TONIGHT INVOLVES OVERNIGHT CLOUD COVER. NORTHERN ZONES LOOK GOOD WITH INCREASING CLOUDS WITH LINE COMING DOWN AND WILL NOT GET CUTE WITH THE WORDING. TO THE SOUTH...MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES ARE STARTING TO GIVE WAY TO LOW CLOUDS COMING IN OFF THE GULF. REPORTS OUT OF KSRQ SHOW THE LOWEST TO BE RIGHT AROUND 500 FT. MODEL GUIDANCE CONTINUE TO PLAY THIS FEATURE UP AND WILL INCLUDE MENTION OF IT IN THE ZONES. WINDS PROGGED TO BE TOO STRONG IN BOUNDARY LAYER FOR FOG...EXCEPT PATCHY POSSIBLE TOWARDS THE FORT MEYERS AREA. MARINE...DIMINISHING LINE OF SHOWERS WILL MAKE IT TO THE NORTHERN WATERS WITH LITTLE INCREASE IN WIND FIELDS. CURRENT FORECAST HANDLES THIS WELL AND NO CHANGES PLANNED AT THIS TIME. .TBW...NONE. JTD
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
15 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.
Dense Fog, Citrus
- When
- January 20, 2:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- Citrus forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Dense Fog, Hernando
- When
- January 20, 2:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- Hernando forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Dense Fog, Pasco
- When
- January 20, 2:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- Pasco forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Dense Fog, Hillsborough
- When
- January 20, 2:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- Hillsborough forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Dense Fog, Pinellas
- When
- January 20, 2:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- Pinellas forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 27.903, -82.739 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Dense Fog, Manatee
- When
- January 20, 2:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- Manatee forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Dense Fog, Sarasota
- When
- January 20, 2:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- Sarasota forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Dense Fog, Sumter
- When
- January 20, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 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)
Dense Fog, Polk
- When
- January 20, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 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)
Dense Fog, Hardee
- When
- January 20, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- Hardee forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 27.493, -81.810 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Dense Fog, Highlands
- When
- January 20, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- Highlands forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 27.343, -81.341 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Dense Fog, De Soto
- When
- January 20, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- De Soto forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 27.186, -81.809 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Dense Fog, Charlotte
- When
- January 20, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- Charlotte forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Dense Fog, Lee
- When
- January 20, 4:00 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
- High Wind in Wyoming, January 20 to 21, 2002
- High Wind in Washington, January 20, 2002
- High Wind in Montana, January 20, 2002
- High Wind in Colorado, January 20 to 21, 2002
- Winter Storm in Wyoming, January 20 to 22, 2002
- Winter Storm in New York, January 20, 2002
- Frost and Freeze in North Carolina, January 20, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, January 20, 2002
- High Surf in Hawaii, January 20 to 24, 2002
- Heavy Rain in Hawaii, January 20, 2002
- Frost and Freeze in North Carolina, January 20, 2002
- High Wind in Montana, January 20, 2002
More
Every storm in Florida in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, January 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: 5277060, 5277061, 5277062, 5277064, 5277065, 5277066, 5277068, 5277069, 5277063, 5277067, 5277070, 5277071, 5277072, 5277073, 5277074.