Dense Fog in Florida, November 12, 2002

Name: Dense Fog in Florida, November 12, 2002
Start: 2002-11-12T02:00
End: 2002-11-12T09:00
Location: Florida

November 12, 2002 · NWS TBW · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Dense fog formed over west central Florida. The Sarasota airport reported 1/4 miles visibility for six hours and the Hernando County airport reported it for four hours.

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.

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Wind
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Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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.

Dense fog formed over west central Florida. The Sarasota airport reported 1/4 miles visibility for six hours and the Hernando County airport reported it for four hours. Elsewhere across the area, the fog reduced visibilities to 1/2 to 2 miles.

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 Nov 11, 8:35 PM EST, 5 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 11, 8:35 PM EST, 5 hours 25 minutes before

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
835 PM EST MON NOV 11 2002

WEATHER PRETTY MUCH EVOLVING ACCORDING TO PLAN THIS EVENING. ALL THE
SIGNIFICANT WEATHER REMAINS TO OUR NORTHWEST...AND SKIES HAVE
CLEARED OUT MOST PLACES. EXPECT ANOTHER ROUND OF PATCHY LOW CLOUDS
AND FOG IN THE MORNING. NOT SURE ABOUT THE COASTAL SHOWERS...BUT
THERE MAY BE ENOUGH FORCING IN THE PRE-DAWN HOURS TO ALLOW FOR A
COUPLE. NO CHANGES TO ZONES PLANNED.

MARINE: WIND STILL HANGING ON TO A SOUTHERLY DIRECTION...EVEN A
TOUCH EAST OF SOUTHERLY...OVER THE NORTHERN LEG. ON 1030 UPDATE...
WILL INDICATE A TREND FOR WIND DIRECTION OVERNIGHT. WIND SPEEDS AND
SEAS LOOK OKAY.

.TBW...NONE.

ALSHEIMER

Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 11, 5:36 AM EST, 20 hours 24 minutes before

FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-111630-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
536 AM EST MON NOV 11 2002

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST
FLORIDA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY:

HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED TODAY OR TONIGHT.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY:

A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA LATE
TUESDAY NIGHT AND EARLY WEDNESDAY. AN INCREASINGLY MOIST AND UNSTABLE
AIR MASS ALONG AND AHEAD OF THIS FRONT WILL RESULT IN SCATTERED
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE
ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT ALONG WITH INCREASING WINDS IN THE LOWER
AND MID LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE MAY RESULT IN A FEW STRONG TO
SEVERE STORMS...WITH THE PRIMARY THREAT BEING DAMAGING WINDS. IN
ADDITION DEADLY CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING STRIKES WILL ACCOMPANY THE
STORMS.

ON WEDNESDAY THE FRONT WILL BE MOVING THROUGH THE SOUTHERN PENINSULA.
CLOUDS AND SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE OVER
WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA DURING THE MORNING HOURS...THEN
CLEARING SKIES WITH MUCH COOLER AND DRIER CONDITIONS WILL MOVE INTO
THE REGION DURING WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON ON INCREASING NORTHWEST TO
NORTHERLY WINDS...AND THESE CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH SUNDAY.

NORTHWEST TO NORTH WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 20 TO 25 KNOTS AND GUSTY
OVER THE ADJACENT GULF WATERS ON WEDNESDAY IN WAKE OF THE FRONT...AND
A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES WILL LIKELY BE REQUIRED.

FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION, CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT
HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TBW

JCM

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.

Dense Fog, Hernando

When: November 12, 2:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Hernando forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Dense Fog, Levy

When: November 12, 2:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Levy forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Dense Fog, Citrus

When: November 12, 2:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Citrus forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Dense Fog, Sumter

When: November 12, 2:00 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, Manatee

When: November 12, 2:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Manatee 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 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Florida, November 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: 5323852, 5323853, 5323854, 5323855, 5323856.