Alert archive / Oregon / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 21, NWS Medford, OR

September 2, 1997Jackson County, Oregon

NWS Medford, OR issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 2, 1997, 8:00 PM PDT for Jackson County, Oregon. It was in force for 60 min. 1 report 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
Sep 2, 1997, 8:00 PM PDT (03:00 UTC)
Expired
Sep 2, 1997, 9:00 PM PDT
In force
60 min
Issued by
NWS Medford, OR
Area
Whole counties

County Jackson County, OR

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Sep 2, 9:09 PM PDTHail 1.5(Mfr)Medford Arpt, ORUp to 1-1/2 inch hail caused widespread damage to the pear crop from Phoenix to east Medford.

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, 3.0 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 1997-09-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 284 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Medford/Jackson, OR at 00:00Z on 1997-09-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 31 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
284 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-90 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2479 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
31 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
150 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 030305 RRA
SVRMFR
ORC029-030400-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
800 PM PDT TUE SEP 2 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEDFORD HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  900 PM PDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION......
 
IN SOUTHWEST OREGON
 
   ...JACKSON COUNTY
 
AT 800 PM RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM MOVING THROUGH JACKSON
COUNTY WEST OF TALENT. THIS STORM IS PRODUCING FREQUENT LIGHTNING..HEAVY
RAIN AND HAIL. THE STORM IS MOVING NORTH NORTHWEST AT 15 MPH AND WILL BE
WEST OF MEDFORD BY 815 PM AND NEAR CENTRAL POINT BY 825 PM.
 
 
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE WINDS IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...HAIL...
AND LIGHTNING. IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES TAKE SHELTER
INSIDE A HOME OR LARGE BUILDING. WHEN LIGHTNING IS NEAR AVOID
USING THE PHONE, EXCEPT FOR EMERGENCIES. IF OUTSIDE DO NOT STAND
BENEATH A NATURAL LIGHTNING ROD SUCH AS A TALL ISOLATEDR TREE.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 2, 7:00 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFRJackson45 min
Sep 2, 7:17 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMFRJosephine58 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.