Alert archive / Oregon / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996

Flash Flood Warning 9, NWS Medford, OR

December 7, 1996Josephine County, Oregon

NWS Medford, OR issued this flash flood warning at Dec 7, 1996, 7:55 PM PST for Josephine County, Oregon. It was in force for 11 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Dec 7, 1996, 7:55 PM PST (03:55 UTC)
Expired
Dec 8, 1996, 6:30 AM PST
In force
11 hr
Issued by
NWS Medford, OR
Area
Whole counties

County Josephine County, OR

The radar

The Medford radar (KMAX), 76 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:56 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Medford/Jackson, OR (KMFR), launched 00:00Z, 3.9 hours before the alert went out and 62 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Medford/Jackson, OR at 00:00Z on 1996-12-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Medford/Jackson, OR at 00:00Z on 1996-12-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 255 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
571 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
84 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
255 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
422 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KMFR 080355
FFWMFR
ORC033-081430-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
755 PM PST SAT DEC 7 1996

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEDFORD OREGON HAS ISSUED A URBAN AND
SMALL STREAM FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 630 AM PST FOR PEOPLE IN
THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN SOUTHWEST OREGON

  ...ALL OF JOSEPHINE COUNTY

DOPPLER RADAR AND SATELLITE IMAGERY CONTINUE TO SHOW MORE RAINS ON
THE WAY TO SOUTHERN OREGON. RAINFALL AMOUNTS SINCE 8:00 AM THIS
MORNING HAVE RANGED FROM 1.50 TO 3.00 INCHES.  THE JOSEPHINE COUNTY
SHERIFFS OFFICE HAS REPORTED WATER OVER ROADS IN NUMEROUS AREAS. 
MANY BLOCKED STORM DRAINS HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN GRANTS PASS AND CAVE
JUNCTION...AS WELL AS WATER COVERING ROADS ALONG HIGHWAY 199...FISH
HATCHERY ROAD...AND THE WILLIAMS HIGHWAY.

WATER LEVELS IN THE UPPER REACHES IF THE ILLINOIS RIVER ARE ALSO
REACHING HIGH LEVELS.  RESIDENCES LIVING ALONG OR NEAR THE UPPER
REACHES OF THE ILLINOIS RIVER...WEST OF CAVE JUNCTION...SHOULD
MONITOR THIS SITUATION AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION SHOULD WATER
LEVELS REACH THREATENING LEVELS.

MOTORISTS ARE URGED TO EXERCISE CAUTION WHEN TRAVELING ALONG SOUTHERN
OREGONp HIGHWAYS AND ROADS.  WITH STANDING WATER BEING REPORTED ALONG
MANY JOSEPHINE COUNTY HIGHWAYS...HYDRO-PLAINING IS A REAL THREAT
TONIGHT.

VAN TRESS

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Medford, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Dec 7, 3:32 PM PST, 4 hours 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 7, 3:32 PM PST, 4 hours 23 minutes before
SOUTHWEST OREGON/NORTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR.
230 PM PST SAT DEC 07 1996

RAMSDIS CONTINUES TO SHOW BAROCLINIC BAND BACKING WITH TIME IN
AGREEMENT WITH PROGS TODAY AND BACK EDGE TO RAIN AREA JUST OFF COAST
AS WARM FRONT APPROACHES. FOCUS OF MAIN RAIN AREA TO SHIFT MORE TO
CNTRL CST AND NRTHWRD UNTIL SUN EVE WHEN NEXT SURGE OF RAIN TAKES AIM
AT SW OREGON. WINDS HAVE DECREASED S CST THIS AFTN BUT WILL LIKELY
INCREASE LATER TONIGHT THRU SUN AM AS ANOTHER WV APPROACHES. FRZNG
LVLS REMAIN FAIRLY HIGH THRU MON...NR 7K MON AFTN.   HOLTZ

.KMAX...VCP 21...OPERATING

.MFR...FLOOD WATCH SW ORE ZONES 3..7..8.
       THROUGH SUNDAY.
    ...HIGH WIND WARNING CAPE BLANCO SOUTH LATE TONIGHT AND SUNDAY
       MORNING.

...SEE PDXCCFPDX FOR CODED CITIES FORECAST.

MFR CR 042/054 042/050 040 056589
LMT CR 035/048 038/046 033 055356
RBG RR 045/057 043/050 044 056699
4BK RR 050/059 049/054 043z 057799
OTH RR 049/057 047/054 044 058899
YKA ER 034/056 033/053 032 055268
MHS ER 035/053 036/050 033 055268
S11 BR 030/052 033/050 029 053267

The office that day

Everything else NWS Medford, OR issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 7, 6:15 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningMFRJackson13 hr
Dec 7, 7:15 PM PSTFlash Flood WarningMFRJackson12 hr
Dec 8, 11:26 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningMFRCoos, Curry, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine4 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Oregon, 1996Every flash flood warning in 1996

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.