A High Wind Warning was issued for the above zone at 2054 PST on 12/15/02 and expired at 0433 PST on 12/16/02. The above observations at Weed verified the warning; the highest sustained wind and peak gust are recorded there.
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 High Wind Warning was issued for the above zone at 2054 PST on 12/15/02 and expired at 0433 PST on 12/16/02. The above observations at Weed verified the warning; the highest sustained wind and peak gust are recorded there.
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 15, 2:14 PM PST, 3 hours 31 minutes earlier.
SOUTHWEST OREGON/NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
250 PM AM PST SUN DEC 15 2002
STRONG SYSTEM MOVING INTO THE AREA THIS EVENING/TONIGHT. WINDS
ALREADY UP TO HIGH WIND CRITERIA ALONG THE COAST AS A DEEP SURFACE
LOW NEAR 48N/131W DEEPENS AND MOVES NORTHEAST. RAIN ALREADY MOVING
INLAND AND WILL BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES TONIGHT. SNOW LEVEL WILL BE
FAIRLY HIGH TONIGHT AND THEN DROP TO PASS LEVELS MONDAY MORNING AS
THE COLD FRONT MOVES ACROSS SOUTHERN OREGON. SNOW AMOUNTS SHOULD
STAY BELOW WARNING CRITERIA...BUT A SNOW ADVISORY MAY BE NEEDED ON
MONDAY. CURRENT FORECASTS ARE LEANING TOWARD THE GFS MODEL
DUE TO RECENT GOOD PERFORMANCE...AND IT LOOKS ON TRACK SO FAR. THE
DISAGREEMENT COMES WITH SNOW LEVELS...WHERE THE ETA IS PREFERRED.
CURRENT WARNINGS/ADVISORIES LOOK GOOD AND WILL LIKELY CONTINUE THEM
INTO THIS EVENING. WINDS WILL DROP OFF OVERNIGHT AS THE SURFACE LOW
MOVES NORTH INTO BRITISH COLUMBIA. SHOWERS WITH FAIRLY LOW SNOW
LEVELS WILL CONTINUE MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY...AND WEDNESDAY LOOKS
FAIRLY DRY. NEXT DECENT SYSTEM DUE ON THURSDAY...BUT AT TIME IT
LOOKS NOT NEARLY AS STRONG AS THE CURRENT STORM. TIMING OF SYSTEMS
AFTER THURSDAY LOOKS UNCERTAIN AS MODELS BEGIN TO DIVERGE...BUT WILL
STICK WITH A BROAD BRUSH SHOWERY REGIME. LUDWIG
.MFR...STORM WARNING FLORENCE OR TO PT ST GEORGE CA
HIGH SURF ADVISORY COAST
HIGH WIND WARNING COAST
WIND ADVISORY 29-30-31-81-84-85ORZ021>031-CAZ080>085-151430- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR 630 AM PST SAT DEC 15 2002 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHERN OREGON AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA .DAY ONE...TODAY HIGH WIND WARNING S OREGON COAST...SEE PDXNPWMFR. WIND ADVISORY FOR KLAMATH AND LAKE COUNTIES OF OREGON...EASTERN SISKIYOU AND MODOC COUNTY AND SHASTA VALLEY OF CALIFORNIA...SEE PDXNPWMFR. GALE WARNING FLORENCE OR TO PT ST GEORGE CA...SEE PDXCWFMFR. HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR SOUTH OREGON COAST...SEE PDXMWSMFR. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY POSSIBLE GALE WARNING FOR THE SOUTH OREGON COAST WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY...SEE CWFMFR FOR FURTHER INFORMATION. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. GERIG
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Weed RAWS reported sustained winds of 41 mph.
Weed RAWS reported a peak gust of 64 mph.
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: 5326383, 5326459.