Oregon, 2001

Lightning Strike in Oregon, August 13, 2001

August 13, 2001 · NWS PDT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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 forecasters said that day

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 Pendleton, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 12, 7:00 PM PST, 5 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 12, 7:00 PM PST, 5 hours 30 minutes before
NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
800 PM PDT SUN AUG 12 2001

ONE SHORT WAVE MOVED TO THE EAST OF THE FORECAST AREA AND AFFECTED
MOSTLY IDAHO NORTHWARD...BUT IT DID SPAWN SOME THUNDERSTORMS OVER
THE NORTHEAST CWA.  ANOTHER SHORT WAVE NOW MOVING INTO SOUTHWEST
OREGON WILL BE THE WEATHER MAKER FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT.  AS IT
CONTINUES TO MOVE NORTHEAST AND RUNS INTO THE ALREADY PRIMED AND
UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE OF CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST OREGON MORE
THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP OVERNIGHT.  IT LOOKS LIKE IT WILL BE A
NOCTURNAL EVENT WITH FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND NOT MUCH RAINFALL.  MOST
OF THE STORMS THAT DEVELOPED ALREADY OVER THE FORECAST AREA HAD
MOSTLY LIGHTNING AND SOME GUSTY WINDS...BUT NOT MUCH RAIN OR HAIL.
SEVERAL MORE SHORT WAVES WEATHER DISTURBANCES ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE
NORTHEAST THROUGH THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST DURING THE NEXT 24 TO 48
HOURS.  THE ATMOSPHERE WILL CONTINUE TO BE QUITE UNSTABLE MONDAY
AFTERNOON SO EXPECT MORE OF THE SAME...AFTERNOON AND EVENING
THUNDERSTORMS.  BY TUESDAY THE FLOW WILL BECOME MORE WESTERLY AND
THEREFORE MORE STABLE AS A HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM DEVELOPS OVER
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.  THIS WILL GIVE THE FORECAST AREA A BREAK FROM
THE THUNDERSTORMS...BUT THE HOT AND DRY CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE
UNTIL AT LEAST THE WEEKEND.  CURRENT FORECAST LOOKS GOOD AND WILL
MAKE UPDATES LATER AS NEEDED.  RSC.

PDT 3220  ALW 3220  PSC 2200  YKM 3200

.KPDT...WSR-88D...VCP21/CSR21...OPERATIONAL.

.KPDT...RED FLAG WARNING FOR DRY LIGHTNING FOR ALL FIRE WEATHER ZONES
        THROUGH 1100 PM TONIGHT.

The radar

The Pendleton radar (KPDT), 14 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 08:31 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Umatilla

When
August 13, 12:30 AM PST
Where
Umatilla County, 7 mi S of Ukiah
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
45.592, -118.737 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning started a large fire in the Bridge Creek Wilderness area 7 miles south of Ukiah. This fire, which burned over 9000 acres of protected elk habitat, was finally contained on the 22 of August, after having forced several residents from their homes on the west side of Camas Creek. It also briefly threatened the town of Ukiah. State Highway 395, the main artery between Ukiah and John Day, was closed from the 15th to the 23rd due to dense smoke and firefighting efforts.

What these are

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 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, August 2001

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: 5265697.