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.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
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.
On the morning of January 15th, temperatures dipped below freezing for up to 11 hours over the Nature Coast, with hard freeze conditions reported for 2 to 6 hours. Freezing temperatures lasted for up to 6 hours over Central Florida. No crop damage was reported.
Levy County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for around 11 hours across much of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 26 degrees at the FAWN site at Bronson.
Citrus County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for around 11 hours across much of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 25 degrees at the COOP site at Inverness.
Hernando County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for around 10 hours across much of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 25 degrees at the FAWN site at Brooksville.
Sumter County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for around 10 hours across much of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 26 degrees at the FAWN site at Okahumpka near the eastern Sumter County border.
Pasco County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for around 9 hours across much of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 27 degrees at the mesonet site at Zephyrhills.
Hillsborough County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for up to 6 hours, mostly over inland portions of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 28 degrees at the mesonet site at Valrico.
Polk County recorded freezing temperatures for around 3 hours across parts of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 32 degrees at the AWOS stations at Bartow and Lakeland and the COOP station at Lakeland.
Sarasota County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for up to 4 hours, mostly over eastern portions of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 28 degrees at the FAWN site at North Port.
Hardee County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for around 3 hours across much of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 28 degrees at the FAWN site at Ona.
DeSoto County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for around 2 hours across much of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 29 degrees at the FAWN site at Arcadia.
Highlands County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for around 4 hours across most of the county with isolated areas staying below freezing for up to 8 hours. The coldest temperature reported was 18 degrees at the COOP site at Archbold.
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, 7:59 PM EST, 2 hours 1 minute earlier.
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</html>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 national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
11 frost/freeze. Local standard time, as filed.
Levy County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for around 11 hours across much of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 26 degrees at the FAWN site at Bronson.
Citrus County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for around 11 hours across much of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 25 degrees at the COOP site at Inverness.
Hernando County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for around 10 hours across much of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 25 degrees at the FAWN site at Brooksville.
Sumter County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for around 10 hours across much of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 26 degrees at the FAWN site at Okahumpka near the eastern Sumter County border.
Pasco County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for around 9 hours across much of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 27 degrees at the mesonet site at Zephyrhills.
Highlands County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for around 4 hours across most of the county with isolated areas staying below freezing for up to 8 hours. The coldest temperature reported was 18 degrees at the COOP site at Archbold.
Hillsborough County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for up to 6 hours, mostly over inland portions of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 28 degrees at the mesonet site at Valrico.
Sarasota County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for up to 4 hours, mostly over eastern portions of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 28 degrees at the FAWN site at North Port.
Polk County recorded freezing temperatures for around 3 hours across parts of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 32 degrees at the AWOS stations at Bartow and Lakeland and the COOP station at Lakeland.
Hardee County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for around 3 hours across much of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 28 degrees at the FAWN site at Ona.
DeSoto County recorded sub-freezing temperatures for around 2 hours across much of the county. The coldest temperature reported was 29 degrees at the FAWN site at Arcadia.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, January 2012
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 361664, 361665, 361666, 361667, 361668, 361675, 361669, 361671, 361670, 361672, 361673.