A Winter Storm Warning was issued for Oregon zones ORZ025/027/028/030 above 3500 feet at 1459 PST on 12/29 and expired at 1040 PST on 12/31. The report above was the only verifying observation.
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 Winter Storm Warning was issued for Oregon zones ORZ025/027/028/030 above 3500 feet at 1459 PST on 12/29 and expired at 1040 PST on 12/31. The report above was the only verifying observation.
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 30, 8:30 AM PST, 15 minutes earlier.
SOUTHWEST OREGON/NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
830 AM PST MON DEC 30 2002
12Z NGM/ETA/GFS IN IN BITS AND PIECES.
A COLD FRONT IS NOW MOVING ONSHORE...BUT BECOMING PARALLEL TO THE
UPPER LEVEL FLOW AS IT DOES SO. THEREFORE ITS FORWARD PROGRESS IS
SLOWING AND WAVES ARE DEVELOPING ALONG THE FRONT IN RESPONSE TO
UPPER LEVEL SHORT WAVES EMBEDDED IN STRONG SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT.
THE FIRST OF THESE WAVES WILL MOVE ONSHORE NEAR FLORENCE THIS
AFTERNOON. IT WILL INDUCE A STRONG PRESSURE GRADIENT FROM CAPE
BLANCO SOUTH SO THE EXTENSION OF THE HIGH WIND WARNING LOOKS LIKE A
GOOD CALL. THE GRADIENT OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA HAS ALSO TIGHTENED
AND WINDS IN THE WEED AREA HAVE ALREADY MET HIGH WIND WARNING
CRITERIA.
THE FRONT WILL MOVE INLAND DECISIVELY INLAND TONIGHT BUT ANOTHER
WAVE WILL DEVELOP OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AS IT DOES SO...SLOWING
THE FRONT ONCE AGAIN. HOWEVER THE GRADIENTS WILL RELAX SO THE STRONG
WINDS WILL END THIS EVENING. THE FRONT WILL CLEAR TO THE SOUTH
AND EAST LATE MONDAY NIGHT OR TUESDAY MORNING...BUT THE OFFSHORE
UPPER TROUGH WILL SUPPORT SHOWER ACTIVITY UNTIL IT WEAKENS AND MOVES
INLAND TUESDAY EVENING.
A BREAK IN THE ACTION TUESDAY NIGHT WITH UPPER LEVEL RIDGING...BUT
A WARM FRONT PULLING UP AHEAD OF THE NEXT SYSTEM ON WEDNESDAY WILL
BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF WIND AND PRECIPITATION...BUT NOTHING LIKE
WHAT IS HAPPENING TODAY. THE TRAILING COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ONSHORE
THURSDAY AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT WILL BE A SLOW MOVING SYSTEM WITH
WAVES DEVELOPING ALONG THE FRONT...SO ANOTHER ROUND OF SIGNIFICANT
PRECIPITATION LOOKS LIKELY.
SNOW LEVELS AT 3500 FEET WILL RISE TO 4500 FEET TODAY AND BACK DOWN
TO 3000 FEET TONIGHT. FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT. AREAS OF URBAN AND
SMALL STREAM FLOODING WILL BE LIKELY...MAINLY ON THE WEST SIDE AND
ALSO HIGH PROBABILITY OF FLOODING IN THE COQUILLE BASIN AND LOWER
ROGUE RIVER.
STOCKTON
.MFR...WINTER STORM WARNING ABOVE 3500 FT...ORZ025/027/028/030
CAZ080/081/082/083 THROUGH TONIGHT.
HIGH WIND WARNING...HEADLANDS ORZ021/022 TODAY.
HIGH WIND WARNING...SOUTHERN SHASTA VALLEY CAZ081 THROUGH
TONIGHT.
FLOOD WATCH...ORZ021/022/023/024/025/026/CAZ080/081/082
THROUGH AT LEAST TUESDAY NIGHT.
SNOW ADVISORY...ORZ029/031/CAZ084/085 TODAY AND TONIGHT.
WIND ADVISORY...ORZ026 THROUGH THIS EVENING.
HIGH SURF ADVISORY...ORZ021/022 AND PZZ350/353/356.
GALE WARNING...FLORENCE OR TO PT. ST. GEORGE CA.ORZ021>031-CAZ080>085-311430- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR 630 AM PST MON DEC 30 2002 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHERN OREGON AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT WINTER STORM WARNING ABOVE 3500 FEET EASTERN DOUGLAS COUNTY FOOTHILLS...SOUTH CENTRAL OREGON CASCADES...SOUTHERN OREGON CASCADES AND SISKIYOU MOUNTAINS...NORTHERN AND EASTERN KLAMATH COUNTY...WESTERN LAKE COUNTY...WESTERN SISKIYOU COUNTY...CENTRAL SISKIYOU COUNTY AND SOUTH CENTRAL SISKIYOU COUNTY...NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEASTERN SISKIYOU COUNTY...SEE PDXWSWMFR FOR DETAILS. HIGH WIND WARNING SOUTHCENTRAL OREGON COAST...CURRY COUNTY COAST AND SOUTHERN SHASTA VALLEY...SEE PDXWSWMFR FOR DETAILS. FLOOD WATCH FOR SOUTH CENTRAL OREGON COAST...CURRY COUNTY COAST...CENTRAL DOUGLAS COUNTY...EASTERN CURRY COUNTY...EASTERN DOUGLAS COUNTY FOOTHILLS...JOSEPHINE COUNTY AND JACKSON COUNTY...WESTERN SISKIYOU COUNTY...CENTRAL SISKIYOU AND SOUTHCENTRAL SISKIYOU COUNTY SEE PDXFFAMFR FOR DETAILS. SNOW ADVISORY KLAMATH BASIN...CENTRAL AND EASTERN LAKE COUNTY AND MODOC COUNTY. WIND ADVISORY FOR JACKSON COUNTY SEE PDXWSWMFR FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY FLOOD WATCH FOR SOUTH CENTRAL OREGON COAST...CURRY COUNTY COAST...CENTRAL DOUGLAS COUNTY...EASTERN CURRY COUNTY...EASTERN DOUGLAS COUNTY FOOTHILLS...JOSEPHINE COUNTY AND JACKSON COUNTY...WESTERN SISKIYOU COUNTY...CENTRAL SISKIYOU AND SOUTHCENTRAL SISKIYOU COUNTY SEE PDXFFAMFR FOR DETAILS. 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.
1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Spotter KL73 in Crescent reported 6 inches of snow since 2300 PST on 12/29.
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: 5326612.