Flood, Southern Coast
- When
- January 1, 12:00 AM PST to January 3, 12:00 AM PST
- Where
- Southern Coast forecast zone
- Property damage
- $7.2 million
Flooding and High Wind in Oregon, January 1 to 5, 1997
A warm southwest flow pushed temperatures into the 60s New Years Eve Day with the freezing lifting to above 10,000 ft. Melting snow and copious amount of rain drove rivers and streams well above flood stageacross Southern Oregon New Years Day with wide spread flooding through Jan 3.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $77 million
- Crop damage
- $13 million
- Events
- 8
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 MFR wrote it up.
A warm southwest flow pushed temperatures into the 60s New Years Eve Day with the freezing lifting to above 10,000 ft. Melting snow and copious amount of rain drove rivers and streams well above flood stageacross Southern Oregon New Years Day with wide spread flooding through Jan 3. The basin average storm total rainfall for the New Years Day storm averaged 2-4 inches with rainfall amounts excess 8 inches. Strong winds spread across Southern Oregon with Cape Blanco reporting 100+ mph winds...spotters in Klamath and Lake counties reported winds of 35-55 mph and gusts to 70 mph New Years Day.
Event by event
5 high wind, 3 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, Rogue Basin
- When
- January 1, 12:00 AM PST to January 3, 12:00 AM PST
- Where
- Rogue Basin forecast zone
- Property damage
- $60 million
- Crop damage
- $11 million
Flood, South Central Oregon
- When
- January 1, 12:00 AM PST to January 5, 12:00 AM PST
- Where
- South Central Oregon forecast zone
- Property damage
- $9.0 million
- Crop damage
- $2.9 million
High Wind, Umpqua Basin
- When
- January 1, 12:00 AM PST to 10:00 PM PST
- Where
- Umpqua Basin forecast zone
- Measured
- 39 kt (45 mph)
High Wind, Southern Cascades and Siskiyou Mountains
- When
- January 1, 12:00 AM PST to 10:00 PM PST
- Where
- Southern Cascades and Siskiyou Mountains forecast zone
- Measured
- 48 kt (55 mph)
High Wind, Rogue Basin
- When
- January 1, 12:00 AM PST to 10:00 PM PST
- Where
- Rogue Basin forecast zone
- Measured
- 39 kt (45 mph)
High Wind, South Central Oregon
- When
- January 1, 12:00 AM PST to 10:00 PM PST
- Where
- South Central Oregon forecast zone
- Measured
- 61 kt (70 mph)
High Wind, Southern Coast
- When
- January 1, 12:00 AM PST to 10:00 PM PST
- Where
- Southern Coast forecast zone
- Measured
- 86 kt (99 mph)
What these are
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flooding in Nevada, January 1 to 17, 1997
- Flooding in Washington, January 1 to 3, 1997
- Flooding in California, January 1 to 17, 1997
- Storm Surge in California, January 1, 1997
- Drought in Texas, January 1 to 31, 1997
- Flood in California, January 1 to 3, 1997
- Flash Flood in California, January 1, 1997
- Flooding and High Wind in California, January 1 to 3, 1997
- Flash Flood in California, January 1, 1997
- Flood in Oregon, January 1 to 5, 1997
- Flood in California, January 1 to 2, 1997
- Flood in Oregon, January 1 to 4, 1997
More
Every storm in Oregon in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, January 1997
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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5603534, 5603535, 5603536, 5603537, 5603538, 5603539, 5603540, 5603541.