Name: High Wind in Oregon, December 14, 2002
Start: 2002-12-14T04:00
End: 2002-12-14T15:00
Location: Oregon

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $15,000
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 Dec 14, 2:50 AM PST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 14, 2:50 AM PST, 1 hour 10 minutes before

NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
250 AM PST SAT DEC 14 2002

A SERIES OF DISTURBANCES WILL MOVE THROUGH SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT
THROUGH MONDAY. EACH SYSTEM WILL BRING A ROUND OF PRECIPITATION AND
INCREASED WINDS. LOW LEVEL WINDS WILL REMAIN 30-50 KNOTS THROUGH
SUNDAY NIGHT AND WILL MIX DOWN TO THE SURFACE WHEN A DISTURBANCE
MOVES OVER THE AREA. SATELLITE SHOWS THE FIRST DISTURBANCE
APPROACHING THE COAST. THE VAD WIND PROFILE SHOWS 30 KNOT WINDS NEAR
THE SURFACE AT PENDLETON. WINDS HAVE DECREASED AT THE SURFACE BUT I
EXPECT THE WINDS TO PICKUP AGAIN...PARTICULARLY IN HIGHER
ELEVATIONS...AS THE  GRADIENTS INCREASE LATER THIS MORNING. WILL
ISSUE A HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE GRANDE RONDE VALLEY...BLUE
MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS FOR TODAY. WINDS WILL BE LIGHT EARLY THIS
MORNING IN THE LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN AND YAKIMA AND KITTITAS VALLEYS
ALLOWING PATCHY FOG TO DEVELOP. WINDS IN THE THE SOUTHERLY WIND ALSO
BRING WARM AIR FOR ANOTHER MILD DAY. SUNDAY THE TEMPERATURES WILL
COOL DOWN ABOUT 10 DEGREES AS COLDER AIR ALOFT MOVES OVER THE AREA.
COONFIELD

EXTENDED...A LOW PRESSURE TROUGH WILL MOVE ACROSS THE PACIFIC
NORTHWEST MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.  A SERIES OF DISTURBANCES
CIRCULATING THROUGH THE UPPER TROUGH WILL KEEP WEATHER UNSETTLED
THROUGH THE PERIOD.  THERE SHOULD BE A BRIEF BREAK BETWEEN SYSTEMS
AS ONE LOW MOVES OUT AND ANOTHER PUSHES IN FOR THE END IN THE
EXTENDED TIME FRAME.  TIMING OF DISTURBANCES IS
DIFFICULT...GENERALLY ONE CYCLING THROUGH EVERY 12 TO 24 HOURS.
THESE TROUGHS WILL PULL IN A COOLER AIR MASS ALLOWING SNOW LEVELS
FALL DURING THE WEEK.  BY THURSDAY NIGHT...SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE AS
LOW AS THE PDT AND ALW AREAS.  MJB.

PDT 875  ALW 875  PSC 97475  YKM 976

.KPDT...NONE.

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 13, 5:00 AM PST, 23 hours before

ORZ041>050-WAZ024>030-141300-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
500 AM PST FRI DEC 13 2002

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST OREGON
AS WELL AS SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON

.DAY ONE... TODAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.  HOWEVER... A SERIES
OF WEATHER SYSTEMS WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION KEEPING WEATHER
UNSETTLED.  SNOW LEVELS WILL FALL BY EARLY NEXT WEEK...RETURNING THE
POTENTIAL FOR SNOW TO THE MOUNTAINS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, John Day Basin

When: December 14, 4:00 AM PST to 3:00 PM PST
Where: John Day Basin forecast zone
Measured: 46 kt (53 mph)
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Strong winds blew down several trees in Canyon City. A portion of a metal roof was blown off a road department building. Damage was also done to residential roofs. In John Day, half of one side of a metal roof folded up and back on a bowling alley due to high winds between 4 AM and 5 AM. Power outages occurred between 8:15 AM and 11:00 AM according to storm spotters and a radio station in John Day. A wind gust of 53 MPH was measured at the John Day Airport at 10:55 AM.

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Oregon in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Oregon, December 2002

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: 5325366.