A Winter Storm Warning was issued for zones CAZ080/082 effective at the above times. No verifying reports were received.
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 zones CAZ080/082 effective at the above times. No verifying reports were received. However, Sand Flat at 6750 feet recorded 10 inches between 1500 PST and 2200 PST, so it is likely that snow was sufficient to verify a warning in parts of the warning area.
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 14, 3:00 AM PST, 20 minutes earlier.
SOUTHWEST OREGON/NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
300 AM PST SAT DEC 14 2002
BACK EDGE OF LATEST STRONG FRONT IS OFFSHORE NEAR 131W AND WILL MOVE
ONSHORE BY AFTERNOON. DEEP 958MB SURFACE LOW NEAR 50/140 WILL
MOVE SLOWLY NORTHEAST TODAY. STRONG SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT
EXISTS ACROSS THE ENTIRE REGION TODAY FOR SOME VERY WINDY
CONDITIONS. VERY STRONG 700MB WINDS WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE
AREA TODAY AND WILL BE TRANSPORTED DOWN TO NEAR THE SURFACE
MANY LOCATIONS CASCADES AND EASTWARD THIS AFTERNOON.
CURRENT HIGH WIND WARNING ALONG THE COAST LOOKS GOOD TODAY. WILL
ALSO CONTINUE HIGH WIND WARNING EAST SIDE LOCATIONS FOR TODAY. LULL
TONIGHT SO SHORT LIVED SO WILL CONTINUE WARNING ALONG THE COAST.
ANOTHER STRONG SURFACE LOW MOVES TO NEAR 46/130 MIDDAY SUNDAY AND YET
ANOTHER MONDAY MORNING. HIGH SNOW LEVELS WILL COME DOWN TONIGHT INTO
SUNDAY MORNING BEFORE RISING AGAIN SUNDAY AFTERNOON...THEN COMING
BACK DOWN AGAIN MONDAY AFTERNOON. STRONG SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST FLOW
ALOFT WILL PRODUCE STRONG UPSLOPE CONDITIONS FAVORING THE MOUNTAINS
OF ZONES 80 AND 82 IN SISKIYOU COUNTY CALIF. SO WILL UPGRADE WATCH
TO WINTER STORM WARNING ABOVE 4000 FEET FOR TONIGHT. LAST BUT NOT
LEAST IS HYDRO CONCERNS. RIGHT NOW WERE IN GOOD SHAPE DUE TO THE
FACT THAT NONE OF THESE SYSTEMS HAVE YET TO GET HUNG UP ANYWHERE...
BUT WILL NEED TO KEEP ANY EYE ON CURRY COUNTY THEN SOUTHEAST INTO
WESTERN SISKIYOU COUNTY OVER THE WEEKEND.
EXTENDED...JET FINALLY SAGS SOUTH INTO CENTRAL CALIF TUESDAY. MORE
OF A SEASONABLE AIR MASS SETTLES IN OVER THE REGION FOR THE WEEK.
PROGRESSIVE PATTERN ACROSS THE PACIFIC WILL KEEP THE WEATHER ON THE
UNSETTLED SIDE AT TIMES WITH SHOWERS. HOLTZ
.MFR...HIGH WIND WARNING TODAY ZONES 21-22-29-30-31-81-84 AND 85.
WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT ABV 4000 FT ZONES 80-82.
GALE WARNING FLORENCE COAST.
HIGH SURF ADVISORY COAST.ORZ021>031-CAZ080>085-141430- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR 630 AM PST FRI DEC 13 2002 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHERN OREGON AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA .DAY ONE...TODAY HIGH WIND WARNING COASTAL HEADLANDS...SEE PDXNPWMFR. WINDS ADVISORY SHASTA VALLEY...SEE PDXNPWMFR. GALE WARNING FROM FLORENCE OR TO PT ST GEORGE CA...SEE PDXCWFMFR. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. ORR
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
See below.
See below.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 2002
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: 5326594, 5326595.