A Winter Storm Warning was issued for CAZ080/082 above 3000 feet at 2225 PST on 11/30/01 and raised to 3500 feet at 0430 PST on 12/01/01. At 1726 PST on 12/01, it was downgraded to a Heavy Snow Warning.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS MFR wrote it up.
A Winter Storm Warning was issued for CAZ080/082 above 3000 feet at 2225 PST on 11/30/01 and raised to 3500 feet at 0430 PST on 12/01/01. At 1726 PST on 12/01, it was downgraded to a Heavy Snow Warning. At 0400 on 12/02/01, the warning was cancelled for CAZ080 and CAZ082 was upgraded to a Winter Storm Warning. It did snow and the wind did blow, but the reports from that zone only verified wind and snow advisories. The reports above actually came from zones CAZ081 and CAZ084, but conditions that met warning criteria were likely not widespread as the above reports were the only ones received. The warning was cancelled at 0430 PST on 12/03/01.
The local office's own words before the first event, 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 the first event at Dec 1, 7:30 AM PST, 22 minutes earlier.
SOUTHWEST OREGON/NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
830 AM PDT SAT DEC 01 2001
COMPLEX SITUATION THIS MORNING WITH PASSING SYSTEM. NUMEROUS
ADVISORIES...WARNINGS AND WATCHES ARE CURRENTLY OUT FOR OUR REGION.
DUE TO NUMEROUS SPOTTER REPORTS...HAVE UPGRADED WIND ADVISORY FOR
AREAS ABOVE 3500 FEET TO WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES DUE TO FALLING
SNOW AND ADDITIONALLY EXPECTED ACCUMULATIONS. HAVE CONTINUED WITH ALL
OTHER ADVISORIES AND WARNINGS AS CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO MEET
CRITERIA THROUGH AT LEAST THE LATE AFTERNOON HOURS. THE BACK EDGE OF
THIS FRONT IS CURRENTLY CROSSING JACKSON COUNTY AND QUICKLY
APPROACHING THE CASCADES. EXPECT RAINFALL TO TAPER OFF TO SHOWERS
TODAY BEHIND THE FRONT. WITH THE UPPER LEVEL PASSING TO OUR NORTH
THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUED STRONG WESTERLY FLOW BEHIND THE
FRONT...EXPECT SHOWER ACTIVITY TO CONTINUE INTO EARLY SUNDAY. THE
NEXT SYSTEM POISED TO HIT THE AREA LOOKS LIKE IT WILL BE MAINLY
TARGETING NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. EVENSO...WILL NEED TO CONSIDER ISSUING
A FEW ADDITIONAL WATCHES FOR THIS SYSTEM WITH THE AFTERNOON PACKAGE.
WILL GO AHEAD AND UPDATE THE ZONES TO UPDATE HEADERS AND MAKE MINOR
ADJUSTMENTS TO THE CURRENT FORECAST. ROSSI
.MFR...GALE WARNING
HEAVY SURF ADVISORY ORZ021-022.
HIGH WIND WARNING ORZ021-022.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY ORZ027-028-029-030-031.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY ORZ025 AND CAZ081 ABOVE 3500 FEET.
WINTER STORM WARNING TODAY CAZ080-082 ABOVE 3500 FEET.
WINTER STORM WATCH SUNDAY CAZ082.
WINTER STORM WATCH SUNDAY CAZ083 CAZ085 SOUTHERN HALF.PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OREGON
254 AM PST SAT DEC 01 2001
TIME(PST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0310 PM OR HEAVY SNOW
11/30/01 JACKSON SPOTTER AT SISKIYOU PASS
REPORTS LIQUID EQUIVALENT
.08 OVERNIGHT SNOW 28
INCHES.
0458 PM BROOKINGS OR NON TSTM WINDS
11/30/01 CURRY SPOTTER CU10 REPORTS WIND
GUSTS TO 50 MPH AT 5PM.
0252 AM BROOKINGS OR
12/01/01 CURRY SPOTTER CU-10 IN THE CAPE
FERRELO AREA REPORTED
ESTIMATED WINDS SOUTH
39-54G70 MPH. NUMEROUS
TREE LIMBS DOWN AND POWER
OUT..,RAINING AT 230 AM.PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OREGON
716 AM PST SAT DEC 01 2001
TIME(PST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0710 AM LAKEVIEW OR
12/01/01 LAKE SPOTTER LA-21 REPORTED
WIND ESTIMATED AT 50
MPH...BLOWING
SNOW...VISBILITY 1/4
MILE...DRIFTING SNOW TO 4
TO 5 FEET. 5 INCHES OF
SNOW OVERNIGHT.PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OREGON
718 AM PST SAT DEC 01 2001
TIME(PST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0716 AM SIXES OR
12/01/01 CURRY SPOTTER CU-07 7 MILES EAST
OF SIXES RIVER REPORTED 24
HOUR RAINFALL ENDING AT 7
AM THIS MORNING OF 1.80
INCHES.The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Spotter SY57 reported 38-40 mph winds with gusts to 52 mph.
Spotter SY39 reported 7 inches of snow in the 10 hours ending at 1700 PST. 0.68 inches water equivalent.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 2001
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: 5274543, 5274544.