Extreme Cold in Oregon, June 12 to 13, 2001

Name: Extreme Cold in Oregon, June 12 to 13, 2001
Start: 2001-06-12T13:44
End: 2001-06-13T08:00
Location: Oregon

June 12 to 13, 2001 · NWS MFR · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

A Frost Warning was issued this night for the above zones. The night wound up being colder than expected, observed low temperatures ranged from 23 to 36 degrees.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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 Frost Warning was issued this night for the above zones. The night wound up being colder than expected, observed low temperatures ranged from 23 to 36 degrees. Several key stations reported lows below 30 degrees; a freeze warning may have been more appropriate for this night.

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 Medford, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 12, 1:30 PM PST, 14 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 12, 1:30 PM PST, 14 minutes before

SOUTHWEST OREGON/NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
230 PM PDT TUE JUN 12 2001

MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT IN THE SHORT TERM...AND THROUGH THE EARLY
PART OF THE EXTENDED. A GULF OF ALASKA UPPER LOW WILL UNDERCUT A BIG
WESTERN CANADIAN RIDGE IN A REX BLOCK PATTERN. THE UPPER LOW WILL
UNDERCUT TOWARD THE QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS FOLLOWED BY SHORT WAVE
ENERGY DIVING DOWN ON ITS BACKSIDE FROM ALASKA. THIS SHORT WAVE
ENERGY WILL ALLOW AN UPPER LOW TO FORM OFFSHORE OF VANCOUVER ISLAND.
THE EXACT LOCATION AND MOVEMENT OF THIS UPPER LOW IS WHAT IS IN MOST
DOUBT EARLY NEXT WEEK.

IN THE NEAR TERM...HAVE ISSUED A FROST WARNING FOR THE EAST SIDE AND
MUCH OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. VERY DRY AIR MASS AS INDICATED BY THE
LOW DEWPOINTS IN THE MIDDLE TO UPPER TEENS. THE BIG WILD CARD IS THE
DIMINISHING WIND. THE WIND MAY NOT GO VERY LIGHT IN SOME PLACES
PREVENTING THE BOTTOM FROM FALLING OUT...BUT WHERE THE WIND DIES DOWN
EARLY...IT WILL FALL WELL INTO THE 20S.

GOOD TEMPERATURE REBOUND WEDNESDAY WITH SUNNY SKIES AND RIDGING
ALOFT. ANOTHER COOL NIGHT EAST SIDE WEDNESDAY NIGHT...BUT NOT NEARLY
AS COOL AS TONIGHT DUE TO INCREASING 1000-500 MB THICKNESS PATTERN
AND WARMER DAYTIME READINGS. WILL STILL SEE FROST THERE IN THE COLD
SPOTS.

SLIGHTLY WARMER ALOFT ON THURSDAY...BUT SOME HIGH/MID CLOUDS MAY BE
AROUND AS UPPER FLOW BECOMES MORE ZONAL.  OVERALL...MOST AREAS SHOULD
BE A LITTLE WARMER THURSDAY COMPARED WITH WEDNESDAY.

WILL CONTINUE A DRY EXTENDED. MORE CLOUDS AND COOLER READINGS MAY
COMMENCE SUNDAY ON THE WEST SIDE...BUT COULD TAKE UNTIL MONDAY EAST
AND SOUTH OF THE CASCADES. THE PATTERN NEXT WEEK LOOKS "TROFFY" WITH
BELOW NORMAL UPPER HEIGHTS AND TEMPERATURES. THE BULK OF THE RAIN
APPEARS TO REMAIN TO OUR NORTH.
SANDLER

.MFR...FROST WARNING TONIGHT EAST OF THE CASCADES AND NORTHERN
       CALIFORNIA...

OTH BB 044/064 049/064 047" 120000
4BK UB 042/065 046/066 048 120000
RBG BB 043/074 048/076 049 120000
MFR UB 039/079 048/081 048 120000
LMT UU 031/071 038/074 040 120000
LKV UU 032/069 035/074 039 120000
MHS UU 036/074 042/078 045 120000

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Klamath Basin

When: June 12, 1:44 PM PST to June 13, 8:00 AM PST
Where: Klamath Basin forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.686, -121.650 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northern & Eastern Klamath County & Western Lake County

When: June 12, 1:44 PM PST to June 13, 8:00 AM PST
Where: Northern & Eastern Klamath County & Western Lake County forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.740, -121.018 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Central & Eastern Lake County

When: June 12, 1:44 PM PST to June 13, 8:00 AM PST
Where: Central & Eastern Lake County forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.793, -120.387 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below.

What these are

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill: Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Oregon in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Oregon, June 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: 5250565, 5250566, 5250567.