A High Wind Warning was issued for the coastal headlands of ORZ021/022 at 1515 PST on 12/24 and expired at 1410 PST on 12/25. The reports above verified a High Wind Warning, but they occurred just after the warning was cancelled, so this was a missed event.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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 ORZ021/022 at 1515 PST on 12/24 and expired at 1410 PST on 12/25. The reports above verified a High Wind Warning, but they occurred just after the warning was cancelled, so this was a missed event.
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 25, 2:21 PM PST, 2 hours 39 minutes earlier.
SOUTHWEST OREGON/NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
221 PM PST WED DEC 25 2002
SHORT TERM...LATEST 18Z MESO-ETA MODEL HANGS THE COLD FRONT UP NORTH
AND WEST OF OUR AREA TONIGHT. THIS FRONT REACHES TO NEAR NEWPORT
THURSDAY MORNING AND THEN BEGINS HEADING NORTH AS A WARM FRONT
LATE THURSDAY AS A BIG SURFACE LOW WINDS UP NEAR 45N/130W. FARTHER
SOUTH...SOUTHERN SISKIYOU COUNTY WILL EXPERIENCE AN INCREASE OF
MOISTURE AND DECENT UPSLOPE TONIGHT. THE NOSE OF AN UPPER JET MOVES
ACROSS THE AREA EARLY TONIGHT INCREASING THE DIFLUENCE ALOFT. APPEARS
TO BE A BORDERLINE SNOW ADVISORY/WARNING EVENT SO WILL ERR ON THE
SIDE OF CAUTION AND CONTINUE WITH THE WINTER STORM WARNING. SNOW MAY
CONTINUE INTO THURSDAY MORNING BEFORE A BRIEF BREAK AND THEN RISING
SNOW LEVELS. HAVE ALSO LOWERED SNOW LEVELS AS THE WET-BULB
TEMPERATURE IS REACHED WITH EVAPORATIVE EFFECT AND HEAVIER
PRECIPITATION.
THE WEED OBSERVATION IN THE SHASTA VALLEY HAS INCREASING GUSTS TO 32
MPH. EXPECT WINDS TO CONTINUE TO INCREASE THERE THIS EVENING. WILL
HAVE A WIND ADVISORY TONIGHT AT THE SOUTHERN END OF THE SHASTA
VALLEY.
WILL ALLOW THE HIGH WIND WARNING AT THE HEADLANDS TO EXPIRE TODAY.
WIND SPEEDS THERE WILL BE MARGINAL...AND THE BEST SHOT OF 60 MPH
GUSTS WILL BE AROUND 00Z THU.
WILL ISSUE A HIGH WIND WATCH FOR THE COAST THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY
MORNING. THIS NEXT SYSTEM IS MUCH MORE IMPRESSIVE THAN THIS CURRENT
SYSTEM BUT WITH MUCH HIGHER SNOW LEVELS. THE TIMING OF THE NEXT COLD
FRONT ON FRIDAY IS IN QUESTION. 12Z AVN AND 18Z ETA ARE SIMILAR...
SENDING THE FRONT INTO OUR AREA FRIDAY MORNING. 12Z ETA AND NGM WERE
FARTHER WEST WITH THE LOW...SENDING THE FRONT INTO OUR AREA FRIDAY
AFTERNOON. MIDDAY FRONTAL PASSAGE MAY BE A GOOD COMPROMISE.
INITIALLY...THE SNOW LEVELS SHOULD BE ABOVE THE PASSES THURSDAY NIGHT
AND EARLY FRIDAY UNTIL THE COLD FRONT PASSAGE. SHOULD SEE QUICKLY
LOWERING SNOW LEVELS BEHIND THE FRONT BUT PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS WILL
LESSEN.
SANDLER
.EXTENDED...WEAK RIDGING FOR SUNDAY WILL PROTECT MOST OF THE CWA
FROM PCPN WITH THE POSSIBLE EXCEPTION OF THE COOS COUNTY COAST WHERE
WEAK OVERRUNING IS PROGGED. OPEN TROF MOVES INTO THE PACIFIC
NORTHWEST MONDAY AND TUESDAY. TIMING OF THIS FEATURE IS DELAYED FROM
PREVIOUS MRF RUNS. THUS...HAVE EXTENDED PCPN INTO TUESDAY. DRY ON
WEDNESDAY AS ANOTHER SHORTWAVE RIDGE MOVES OVER THE PACIFIC
NORTHWEST.
SARGEANT
.MFR...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT FOR CAZ080-082.
WIND ADVISORY TONIGHT FOR CAZ081 (WEED).
HIGH WIND WATCH COAST THURSDAY NIGHT AND EARLY FRIDAY.
GALE WARNING TONIGHT FLORENCE OR TO POINT ST GEORGE CA.ORZ021>031-CAZ080>085-261430- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR 630 AM PST WED DEC 25 2002 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHERN OREGON AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE SOUTHERN OREGON COASTAL HEADLANDS. REFER TO PDXWSWMFR. GALE WARNING FOR SOUTHERN OREGON COASTAL WATERS. REFER TO PDXCWFMFR. WINTER STORM WARNING FOR WEDNESDAY NIGHT FOR WESTERN SISKIYOU COUNTY IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. REFER TO PDXWSWMFR. WIND ADVISORY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FOR THE SOUTHERN SHASTA VALLEY. REFER TO PDXWSWMFR. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. ANOTHER WIND EVENT IS EXPECTED THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY. LOWERING SNOW LEVELS TO NEAR 1000 FEET ARE POSSIBLE ON SUNDAY MORNING. HESS
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Cape Blanco recorded winds of 4 mph gusting to 61 mph during this 7 hour stretch.
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: 5326478.