Oregon, 1998

Hail and Lightning Strike in Oregon, April 29, 1998

April 29, 1998 · NWS MFR · 2 events in 1 county or zone

A unusually organized strong to severe thunderstorm developed in the Siskiyou Mountains along the Jackson and Josephine county border and moved north along the county line before propagating to the right into eastern Douglas County where it gradually weakened. The organized cell showing weak supercell characteristics produced a fantastic lightning display with spotters reporting continuous…

Where it happened

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  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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 unusually organized strong to severe thunderstorm developed in the Siskiyou Mountains along the Jackson and Josephine county border and moved north along the county line before propagating to the right into eastern Douglas County where it gradually weakened. The organized cell showing weak supercell characteristics produced a fantastic lightning display with spotters reporting continuous lightning with one report of ball lightning. 44000 residents were without power between Rogue River Oregon to Crescent City California from 2032 pm to 2200 pm. The storm developed in an area of strong upper level diffluence in advance of an approaching shortwave trough.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 hail, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Josephine

When
April 29, 8:09 PM PST
Where
Josephine County, Selma
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
42.280, -123.620

Lightning, Josephine

When
April 29, 9:42 PM PST
Where
Josephine County, Grants Pass
Coordinates
42.366, -123.556 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Lightning
A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Oregon in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, April 1998

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: 5632391, 5632392.