Alert archive / Oregon / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 23, NWS Medford, OR

September 9, 1997Curry County, Douglas County, Oregon

NWS Medford, OR issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 9, 1997, 11:20 PM PDT for Curry County, Douglas County, Oregon. It was in force for 35 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Sep 9, 1997, 11:20 PM PDT (06:20 UTC)
Expired: Sep 9, 1997, 11:55 PM PDT
In force: 35 min
Issued by: NWS Medford, OR
Area: Whole counties

Counties Curry County, OR, Douglas County, OR

The radar

The Medford radar (KMAX), 119 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:20 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, 6.3 hours before the alert went out and 92 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1644 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 149 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 299 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

250 
WUUS1 KMFR 100628 RRA
SVRMFR
ORC015-019-100655-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
1120 PM PDT TUE SEP 9 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEDFORD OR HAS ISSUED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1155 PM PDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE
FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN SOUTHWEST OREGON

  ...NORTHEASTERN CURRY COUNTY
  ...SOUTHWESTERN DOUGLAS COUNTY

AT 1125 PM PST RADAR CONTINUES TO INDICATE A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 17
MILES WEST OF GLENDALE.  THIS STORM IS MOVING NORTH AT 25 MPH.  THE
STORM IS ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE DAMAGING HAIL AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM...SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY

GETTMAN

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 Sep 9, 9:02 PM PDT, 2 hours 18 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 9, 9:02 PM PDT, 2 hours 18 minutes before

SOUTHWEST OREGON/NORTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
830 PM PDT TUE SEP 09 1997...CORRECTION

CONVECTIVE ACTVTY NRLY OVR FOR THE NGT.  MST UNSTBL AIR HAS MVD N OF
CWA.  SPEED MAX MVG INTO N CALIF THO AND THS FEATR IS CAUSG REDVLPMT
OF CONV NR THE CST AND S MODOC/SISKYOU COUNTY.  WL NEED TO KP SM
THREAT OF SHWRS OR ISOLD TSTM ACRS CWA THRU NGT. OFSHR LOW QSTNRY THRU
WED...MVG ACRS CWA AS OPEN TROF WED NGT AND THU.  SHWR THREAT FOR CWA
WILL CONTINUE TIL TROF MOVS E OF CWA ERLY THU.  MAJOR TSTM THREAT OVR
AS HIGHEST THTE AIR HAS MVD N.  WEAKER CONVCTN EXPECTED TMRW WITH
ISOLD TSTMS PSBL.  TEMP FCSTG HAS BEEN A REAL CHALLENGE LATELY.  CURNT
SAT PICS AND ERL MOISTURE FIELD MAKE ME THINK THAT MR SS WIL VISIT
WSIDE LOCATIONS WED.  THUS WL RAISE MAX TEMPS CLOSR TO GUIDANCE.  HV
SHAVED POPS...ESPECLY OVR N CALIF DUE TO LESS MOISTR..MR STBL CONDS.
TROF REDVLPG OFSHR FRI THRU SUN WITH THE ATMOS WRMG THRU SUN.  SW FLW
ALFT WL ADVCT ENOF MOISTR FOR SUM CLDS AT TIMES.  THS COVRD IN PDX
EXTNDD.  PDX TEMPS WL BE A TAD COOL FOR S ORE ESPCLY SUN IF MRF IS
CLOSE.  DDG

.MFR...NONE.

.KMAX...21...OPERATING.

...SEE PDXCCFPDX FOR CODED CITIES FORECAST

MFR EB 058/085 057/080 053 032442
LMT EB 050/077 048/075 044 032332
RBG WB 060/081 056/076 054 032551
4BK WB 058/067 054/069 054 034551
OTH WB 057/068 056/070 056 034551
YKA EB 052/086 049/081 045 032221
MHS EB 052/079/047/076 044 032221
S11 BB 048/085 044/079 041 032221

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 9, 10:52 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MFR	Curry, Josephine	33 min
Sep 9, 11:47 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MFR	Douglas	33 min
Sep 10, 12:25 AM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MFR	Coos	35 min
Sep 10, 1:18 AM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MFR	Josephine	32 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Oregon, 1997 Every 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.