Alert archive / Oregon / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 18, NWS Medford, OR

August 1, 1997Jackson County, Oregon

NWS Medford, OR issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 1, 1997, 5:41 PM PDT for Jackson County, Oregon. It was in force for 34 min. 3 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Aug 1, 1997, 5:41 PM PDT (00:41 UTC)
Expired
Aug 1, 1997, 6:15 PM PDT
In force
34 min
Issued by
NWS Medford, OR
Area
Whole counties

County Jackson County, OR

The radar

The Medford radar (KMAX), 39 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:42 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.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 1, 6:01 PM PDTHail 0.75Central Pt, OR
Aug 1, 6:01 PM PDTHail 0.75White City, OR
Aug 1, 6:07 PM PDTHail 1.38Central Pt, ORREPORTED BY NWS EMPLOYEE

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.

The nearest sounding before it

Medford/Jackson, OR (KMFR), launched 00:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 9 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 1997-08-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 884 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 1997-08-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -23 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
884 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-61 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2238 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-23 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
40 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMFR 020056 RRA
SVRMFR
ORC029-020115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
541 PM PDT FRI AUG 1 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEDFORD OR HAS ISSUED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 615 PM PDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE
FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN SOUTHWEST OREGON

  ...SOUTH CENTRAL JACKSON COUNTY

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM HAS BEEN DETECTED JUST SOUTH OF MEDFORD...OR 
JUST SOUTHWEST OF TALENT. THIS SEVERE STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING
HAIL UP TO ONE AND A HALF INCHES IN DIAMETER.  THE STORM IS MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 15-20 MPH AND WILL PASS ACROSS TALENT AND PHOENIX BY
6PM.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM...SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY!

HOLTZ

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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 severe thunderstorm warning went out at Aug 1, 2:30 PM PDT, 3 hours 11 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 1, 2:30 PM PDT, 3 hours 11 minutes before
SOUTHWEST OREGON/NORTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
230 PM PDT FRI AUG 01 1997

LESS CONV ACTVTY THIS AFTN THAN YSTRDY. ONLY TCU THUS FAR ALNG THE
CASCDS. STILL APRS TO BE A WK ROT CNTR OVR NW CA..SO WL CONT WITH
ISOLD TSRA THIS EVE CAZ11/12 AND ORZ08/12/15 AS AMS APCHG CONV TEMP.
WKEND PTRN SHWS UPR HI RETROGRDS TO 4 CRNRS AREA WITH UPR TROF OFSHR
AND SWRLY FLO ALFT CONT. HGTS RISE THRU THE WKEND WITH WRMG ALFT AND
MOR STBL AMS. THINK ISOLD TSRA STILL POSS CASCDS EWD AND SISKIYOUS
EWD OVR CA THO ACTVTY LESS WDSPRD. WITH AMS WRMG THIS WKEND APRS GUID
TEMPS TOO COOL SO WL INCR SUM. LT NGT AND MRNG LO CLDS WL CONT
SAT/SUN CSTL AREAS WITH FAIRLY WK PRES GRADS.

RC

.MFR...NONE

.KMAX...VCP 21...OPERATING.

...SEE PDXCCFPDX FOR CODED CITIES FORECAST

MFR UU 059/091 060/094 061 061---
LMT UU 050/086 050/088 051 061111
RBG UU 056/085 056/086 057 060000
4BK BB 053/068 053/069 053 060000
OTH BB 053/069 053/070 053 060000
YKA UU 050/090 050/094 051 061111
MHS UU 049/084 050/087 051 061111
S11 UU 045/086 046/088 047 061111

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 1, 6:51 PM PDTFlash Flood WarningMFRKlamath94 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Oregon, 1997Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1997

Sources

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