Maryland, 2020

Dense Fog in Maryland, December 12, 2020

December 12, 2020 · NWS LWX · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

Dense fog developed early in the morning, with widespread visibility of 1/4 mile or below. Fog dissipated towards noon.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
11

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 LWX wrote it up.

Dense fog developed early in the morning, with widespread visibility of 1/4 mile or below. Fog dissipated towards noon.

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 Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 12, 6:51 AM EST, 9 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 12, 6:51 AM EST, 9 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 12, 5:17 AM EST, 1 hour 43 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Baltimore MD/Washington DC
517 AM EST Sat Dec 12 2020

ANZ530>543-DCZ001-MDZ008-011-013-014-016>018-504-506-508-
VAZ052>057-131030-
Chesapeake Bay north of Pooles Island MD-
Chesapeake Bay from Pooles Island to Sandy Point MD-
Chesapeake Bay from Sandy Point to North Beach MD-
Chesapeake Bay from North Beach to Drum Point MD-
Chesapeake Bay from Drum Point MD to Smith Point VA-
Tidal Potomac from Key Bridge to Indian Head MD-
Tidal Potomac from Indian Head to Cobb Island MD-
Tidal Potomac from Cobb Island MD to Smith Point VA-
Patapsco River including Baltimore Harbor-
Chester River to Queenstown MD-Eastern Bay-
Choptank River to Cambridge MD and the Little Choptank River-
Patuxent River to Broomes Island MD-
Tangier Sound and the inland waters surrounding Bloodsworth
Island-District of Columbia-Cecil-Southern Baltimore-
Prince Georges-Anne Arundel-Charles-St. Marys-Calvert-
Central and Southeast Montgomery-Central and Southeast Howard-
Southeast Harford-Prince William/Manassas/Manassas Park-Fairfax-
Arlington/Falls Church/Alexandria-Stafford-Spotsylvania-
King George-
517 AM EST Sat Dec 12 2020

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the Maryland portion of the
Chesapeake Bay, Tidal Potomac River, and I-95 corridor through
central Maryland, northern Virginia, and District of Columbia.

.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight

No hazardous weather is expected at this time.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday

There is a slight winter storm threat for Wednesday and Wednesday
night. If the threat materializes, it may cause travel disruptions.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not expected at this time.

MDZ003>006-503-505-507-VAZ025>031-036>040-050-051-501-502-505>508-
WVZ050>053-055-131030-
Washington-Frederick MD-Carroll-Northern Baltimore-
Northwest Montgomery-Northwest Howard-Northwest Harford-Augusta-
Rockingham-Shenandoah-Frederick VA-Page-Warren-Clarke-Nelson-
Albemarle-Greene-Madison-Rappahannock-Orange-Culpeper-
Northern Fauquier-Southern Fauquier-Western Loudoun-
Eastern Loudoun-Northern Virginia Blue Ridge-
Central Virginia Blue Ridge-Hampshire-Morgan-Berkeley-Jefferson-
Hardy-
517 AM EST Sat Dec 12 2020

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of eastern West
Virginia, northern and central Virginia, and central and western
Maryland.

.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight

No hazardous weather is expected at this time.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday

There is a slight winter storm threat for Monday. If the threat
materializes, it may cause travel disruptions, including during
the morning commute Monday.

There is an enhanced winter storm threat for Wednesday and
Wednesday night. The primary threat is disruption to travel.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not expected at this time.

MDZ001-501-502-VAZ503-504-WVZ501>506-131030-
Garrett-Extreme Western Allegany-Central and Eastern Allegany-
Western Highland-Eastern Highland-Western Grant-Eastern Grant-
Western Mineral-Eastern Mineral-Western Pendleton-
Eastern Pendleton-
517 AM EST Sat Dec 12 2020

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the Allegheny Front
counties in western Maryland, eastern West Virginia, and Highland
County Virginia.

.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight

No hazardous weather is expected at this time.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday

There is a slight winter storm threat for Monday. If the threat
materializes, it may cause travel disruptions, including during
the morning commute Monday.

There is an enhanced winter storm threat for Wednesday and
Wednesday night. The primary threat is disruption to travel.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not expected at this time.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.

Dense Fog, Carroll

When
December 12, 7:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Carroll forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
39.563, -77.022 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense fog developed early in the morning, with widespread visibility of 1/4 mile or below. Fog dissipated towards noon.

Dense Fog, Northern Baltimore

When
December 12, 7:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Northern Baltimore forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
39.443, -76.616 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense fog developed early in the morning, with widespread visibility of 1/4 mile or below. Fog dissipated towards noon.

Dense Fog, Southern Baltimore

When
December 12, 7:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Southern Baltimore forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
39.367, -76.614 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense fog developed early in the morning, with widespread visibility of 1/4 mile or below. Fog dissipated towards noon.

Dense Fog, Prince Georges

When
December 12, 7:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Prince Georges forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
38.830, -76.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense fog developed early in the morning, with widespread visibility of 1/4 mile or below. Fog dissipated towards noon.

Dense Fog, Anne Arundel

When
December 12, 7:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Anne Arundel forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
38.994, -76.568 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense fog developed early in the morning, with widespread visibility of 1/4 mile or below. Fog dissipated towards noon.

Dense Fog, Northwest Montgomery

When
December 12, 7:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Northwest Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
39.136, -77.204 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense fog developed early in the morning, with widespread visibility of 1/4 mile or below. Fog dissipated towards noon.

Dense Fog, Central and Southeast Montgomery

When
December 12, 7:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Central and Southeast Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
39.136, -77.204 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense fog developed early in the morning, with widespread visibility of 1/4 mile or below. Fog dissipated towards noon.

Dense Fog, Northwest Howard

When
December 12, 7:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Northwest Howard forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
39.251, -76.931 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense fog developed early in the morning, with widespread visibility of 1/4 mile or below. Fog dissipated towards noon.

Dense Fog, Central and Southeast Howard

When
December 12, 7:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Central and Southeast Howard forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
39.251, -76.931 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense fog developed early in the morning, with widespread visibility of 1/4 mile or below. Fog dissipated towards noon.

Dense Fog, Northwest Harford

When
December 12, 7:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Northwest Harford forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
39.536, -76.299 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense fog developed early in the morning, with widespread visibility of 1/4 mile or below. Fog dissipated towards noon.

Dense Fog, Southeast Harford

When
December 12, 7:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Southeast Harford forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
39.536, -76.299 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense fog developed early in the morning, with widespread visibility of 1/4 mile or below. Fog dissipated towards noon.

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

More

Every storm in Maryland in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Maryland, December 2020

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 935610, 935611, 935612, 935613, 935614, 935615, 935616, 935617, 935618, 935619, 935620.