Minnesota, 2023

Dense Fog in Minnesota, December 16, 2023

December 16, 2023 · NWS ARX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Areas of dense fog resulted in mist and drizzle in southeast Minnesota on December 16th. Automated weather observation stations reported above freezing surface temperatures and minimum visibilities of 1/4 statute miles at times.

Where it happened

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
1
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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 ARX wrote it up.

Areas of dense fog resulted in mist and drizzle in southeast Minnesota on December 16th. Automated weather observation stations reported above freezing surface temperatures and minimum visibilities of 1/4 statute miles at times.

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 La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 16, 2:41 PM CST, 1 hour 49 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 16, 2:41 PM CST, 1 hour 49 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 16, 4:39 AM CST, 11 hours 51 minutes before
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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.

Dense Fog, Dodge

When
December 16, 4:30 PM CST
Where
Dodge forecast zone
Injuries
0 direct, 1 indirect
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
44.023, -92.862 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Minnesota State Patrol reported an automobile accident along Minnesota State Highway 14 in Claremont Township on the afternoon of December 16th. Nearby automated weather observation stations reported rain, mist, and dense fog through much of the day. The accident report filed by the Minnesota State Patrol on December 16th classified the road conditions as wet.

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 Minnesota in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, December 2023

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: 1153343.