A High Wind Warning was issued for the coastal headlands of ORZ021 from Cape Blanco south and ORZ022 at 0515 PST on 12/18 and cancelled at 1104 PST on 12/20. The observations above are the highest sustained winds and peak gusts recorded at those stations.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 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 coastal headlands of ORZ021 from Cape Blanco south and ORZ022 at 0515 PST on 12/18 and cancelled at 1104 PST on 12/20. The observations above are the highest sustained winds and peak gusts recorded at those stations. Cape Blanco met or exceeded high wind warning criteria from 0000 PST on 12/19 (possible earlier) until 1000 PST on 12/19 and again from 1300 PST on 12/19 until 1200 PST on 12/20.
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 19, 3:37 AM PST, 2 hours 52 minutes earlier.
SOUTHWEST OREGON/NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
335 AM PST THU DEC 18 2002
INCOMING SHORT WAVE MOVING TOWARD 125W HAS GENERATED FAST SOUTHERLY
FLOW OVER THE AREA...CREATING UPSLOPE SNOW OVER THE SHASTA REGION...
HIGH WINDS AT THE COAST FROM BLANCO SOUTH...AND STRONG WINDS IN THE
SHASTA AND BEAR CREEK VALLEYS. SNOW LEVEL 3000 FT. WINDS HAVE RAMPED
UP IN THE ROGUE VALLEY EARLY THIS MORNING AS RDD-MFR PRESSURE
GRADIENT SHOT UP QUICKLY FROM 6 TO 9 MB. WILL NEED TO INCLUDE 026 IN
WIND ADVISORY TODAY FOR POSSIBLE PERIODS OF SUSTAINED WINDS 25-30
MPH AND GUSTS TO 45 MPH. WILL GET WINDY EAST TOO...BUT ADVISORY
WINDS NOT EXPECTED. SNOW IS CURRENTLY RATHER LIGHT OVER SHASTA...
THOUGH AS WAVE MOVES INLAND WITH RICH MOISTURE THROUGH LATE
MORNING...SNOWS WILL INCREASE WITH MANY INCHES EXPECTED THERE ABOVE
3000 FT THROUGH EARLY EVENING. WAVE MOVES EAST TONIGHT WITH A BREAK
IN THE STRONG WINDS AND THE UPSLOPE PRECIP.
ANOTHER STRONG VORT IS FORECAST SIMARLY BY THE MODELS TO WRAP AROUND
THE UPPER LOW AT 130W AND REACH THE COAST FRIDAY MORNING. LOOKS
WINDY AHEAD OF THIS WAVE AGAIN...BUT APPEARS AT THIS TIME THAT
WARNING/ADVISORY WINDS WILL NOT OCCUR. WILL NEED TO WATCH SHASTA
VALLEY THOUGH. UP TIL THIS POINT THINGS OVER INLAND OREGON SHOULD
REMAIN FAIRLY DRY WITH ONLY LOW POPS IN DOWNSLOPE FLOW. WHEN THE
FRIDAY WAVE MOVES INLAND...CONFIDENCE INCREASES SIGNIFICANTLY ON
PRECIP FROM THE CASCADES WEST. SNOW LEVELS 3000-3500 FT. LOOKS LIKE
A 3-6 INCH SNOW EVENT FOR THE CASCADES...LOCALLY MORE THOUGH
HEADLINES NOT ANTICIPATED. PASSES WILL GET SNOW HOWEVER. SHASTA AREA
SHOULD AGAIN SATISFY 12-HOURLY WARNING CRITERIA SNOWS OF 6+ INCHES.
THE UPPER LOW FILLS AND MOVES SLOWLY INLAND THROUGH SATURDAY WITH
PRECIP CHANCES CONTINUING. THINGS DRY OUT SUNDAY...WITH THE NEXT
TROUGH DUE IN WITH HIGH RAIN/SNOW CHANCES LATE TUESDAY THROUGH
CHRISTMAS. STAVISH
.MFR...HIGH WIND WARNING TODAY HEADLANDS 021-022 CAPE BLANCO SOUTH.
WIND ADVISORY TODAY 081-026.
WINTER STORM WARNING ABOVE 3000 FT TODAY THROUGH FRI 080-082.
GALE WARNING FLORENCE OR TO POINT ST GEORGE CA.
HIGH SURF ADVISORY FLORENCE OR TO POINT ST GEORGE CA.ORZ021>031-CAZ080>085-191430- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR 630 AM PST WED DEC 18 2002 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHERN OREGON AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA .DAY ONE...TODAY A STRONG PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM MOVES INTO SOUTHWEST OREGON AND NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA TONIGHT AND INTO THURSDAY. GALE WARNING FROM FLORENCE OR TO PT ST GEORGE CA...SEE PDXCWFMFR. HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE COASTAL HEADLANDS OF SOUTH AND SOUTHCENTRAL OREGON COAST TONIGHT...SEE PDXCWFMFR FOR FURTHER INFORMATION. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY HIGH WIND WARNING AND GALE WARNING CONTINUE INTO THURSDAY...SEE ABOVE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION. WINTER STORM WATCH FOR ABOVE 3000 FEET FOR WEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL SISKIYOU COUNTY...SEE PDXWSWMFR 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.
5 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Spotter CU31 reported SSW wind 40-45 gusting to 69 mph.
Gold Beach recorded winds 42 mph gusting to 67 mph.
Cape Blanco recorded a peak gust of 76 mph.
Gold Beach recorded a gust to 60 mph.
Cape Blanco recorded a sustained wind of 52 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, 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: 5326472, 5326473, 5326471, 5326474, 5326470.