Florida, 2012

Frost and Freeze in Florida, January 14, 2012

January 14, 2012 · NWS TBW · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

A cold front moved southeast across the Florida Peninsula through the evening of January 12th and the morning of January 13th, with Canadian high pressure building into the area behind the front. This allowed for breezy northerly winds and cold air advection to bring temperatures down to well below freezing.

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
4

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 cold front moved southeast across the Florida Peninsula through the evening of January 12th and the morning of January 13th, with Canadian high pressure building into the area behind the front. This allowed for breezy northerly winds and cold air advection to bring temperatures down to well below freezing. Temperatures dipped below freezing for a couple of hours over the Nature Coast on the morning of January 14th, but the coldest temperatures were recorded on the morning of January 15th. No crop damage was reported.

Levy County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for around 2 hours across much of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 29 degrees at the COOP site at Chiefland.

Citrus County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for around 2 hours across much of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 28 degrees at both the COOP site at Inverness and the AWOS station at Crystal River.

Hernando County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for around 2 hours across much of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 28 degrees at the FAWN site at Brooksville.| |Sumter County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for around 2 hours across much of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 30 degrees at the FAWN site at Okahumpka near the eastern Sumter County border.

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 14, 3:18 AM EST, 3 hours 42 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 14, 3:18 AM EST, 3 hours 42 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 14, 4:15 AM EST, 2 hours 45 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL
415 AM EST SAT JAN 14 2012

FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-141400-
LEVY-CITRUS-SUMTER-HERNANDO-PASCO-PINELLAS-HILLSBOROUGH-POLK-
MANATEE-HARDEE-HIGHLANDS-SARASOTA-DE SOTO-CHARLOTTE-LEE-
415 AM EST SAT JAN 14 2012

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT.

...COLD IMPACT...
FREEZING TEMPERATURES EXPECTED FROM BROOKSVILLE NORTH UNTIL 9 AM.
ISOLATED AREAS MAY DROP TO 31 DEGREES FOR A FEW HOURS TONIGHT. EXPECT
PATCHY FROST IN THE TYPICAL COLD SPOTS FROM LEVY COUNTY SOUTH TO
INTERIOR CHARLOTTE COUNTIES. IN THE TAMPA BAY AREA THAT MEANS EAST
OF 75 AND WEST OF HIGHWAY 17 IN POLK COUNTY.

...MARINE GUST IMPACT...
FOR TODAY A SMALL CRAFT EXERCISE CAUTION HAS BEEN POSTED 20 TO 60
MILES OFFSHORE OF FORT MYERS TO TAMPA BAY FOR NORTH WINDS 14 TO
17 KNOTS AND SEAS OF 4 TO 5 FEET.

...FIRE WEATHER IMPACT...
A RED FLAG WARNING HAS BEEN POSTED FOR LEE COUNTY THIS AFTERNOON.
PINELLAS...POLK...SARASOTA AND CHARLOTTE COUNTIES ARE ON THE DRY
SIDE BUT BELOW CRITICAL CRITERIA.  HUMIDITIES AWAY FROM THE COAST
WILL DROP BELOW 35 PERCENT FOR 5 HOURS OR MORE THIS AFTERNOON.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY.

...FIRE WEATHER IMPACT...
EXPECT A REPEAT OF SATURDAY CONDITIONS ON SUNDAY...THEN MOISTURE
INCREASES WITH THREATS REDUCED.

...MARINE GUST IMPACT...
WINDS REMAIN A BIT GUSTY SUNDAY SO BE SURE TO CHECK THE FORECAST
BEFORE HEADING OFFSHORE. CONDITIONS IMPROVE LATER MONDAY AND
TUESDAY...BUT ANOTHER COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA LATER ON
WEDNESDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY.

NOAH

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Frost/Freeze, Levy

When
January 14, 7:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where
Levy forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer

Levy County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for around 2 hours across much of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 29 degrees at the COOP site at Chiefland.

Frost/Freeze, Hernando

When
January 14, 7:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where
Hernando forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet

Hernando County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for around 2 hours across much of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 28 degrees at the FAWN site at Brooksville.

Frost/Freeze, Sumter

When
January 14, 7:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where
Sumter forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
28.705, -82.081 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sumter County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for around 2 hours across much of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 30 degrees at the FAWN site at Okahumpka near the eastern Sumter County border.

Frost/Freeze, Citrus

When
January 14, 7:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where
Citrus forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer

Citrus County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for around 2 hours across much of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 28 degrees at both the COOP site at Inverness and the AWOS station at Crystal River.

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 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, January 2012

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 361655, 361656, 361657, 361659.