Heavy Rain, Marion
- When
- February 22, 10:00 PM PST to February 23, 4:00 AM PST
- Where
- Marion County, Countywide
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 44.903, -122.585 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain in Oregon, February 22 to 23, 2002
A line of thunderstorms moving through the Willamette Valley brought heavy rains to the area. 46 inches fell in 30 minutes.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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 happened
The episode as NWS PQR wrote it up.
A line of thunderstorms moving through the Willamette Valley brought heavy rains to the area. Salem had 0.56 inches in one hour, Aurora 0.89 in two hours and Portland 0.94 inches in two and half hours of which 0.46 inches fell in 30 minutes. Portland General Electric reported 500 customers lost power in the Stayton area.
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 Portland, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 22, 8:30 PM PST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 22, 8:30 PM PST, 1 hour 30 minutes before
NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR 830 PM PST FRI FEB 22 2002 .SYNOPSIS...A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT WILL PASS THROUGH NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WA LATE TONIGHT WITH RAIN DEVELOPING DURING THE NIGHT. THE RAIN WILL CHANGE TO SHOWERS SAT WITH AN UPPER DISTURBANCE BRUSHING THE AREA FROM THE NORTHWEST. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD AT THE SURFACE AND ALOFT SUN AND MON. .DISCUSSION... .SHORT TERM...SYSTEM FINALLY BEGINNING TO KICK INLAND FORCED BY PROGRESSION OF UPSTREAM SYSTEM CROSSING 145W. STRONG LOBE HAS MOVED INTO SOUTHEAST OREGON WITH NUMEROUS LIGHTNING STRIKES IN AREA OF STRONG FORCING AND DIFLUENT FLOW ALOFT. FROM SATELLITE PROJECTIONS EXPECT LOBE TO ROTATE NORTH INTO DISTRICT LATER THIS EVENING AND WILL ADD TSTMS TO SOUTHERN ZONES. CONDITIONS MAY STABILIZE FURTHER NORTH OVERNIGHT AS UPPER CIRCULATION BEGINS TO MOVE ONSHORE FOR INCREASING RAIN. PRECIPITATION SHOULD BE DECREASING SAT AS MAIN UPPER CENTER SHIFTS RAPIDLY INTO ID...BUT WARP AROUND MOISTURE COMBINED WITH CONSIDERABLE ONSHORE FLOW MAY MAINTAIN AREAS RAIN UNTIL MOISTURE DECREASES IN AFTERNOON GIVING APPARENT CHANGE TO SCATTERED SHOWERS. UPPER TROUGH DROPPING OUT OF CANADA MAINTAINS RESIDUAL CYCLONIC ONSHORE FLOW SAT NIGHT FOR SOME SHOWERS...THEN DRIER COOLER AIR MASS DROPS INTO EASTERN OREGON LATE SUN INTO MON FOR DEVELOPING OFFSHORE FLOW. .LONG TERM...NO CHANGES. WILLIS AST 863111 PDX 863111 SLE 973100 EUG 973100 .PQR...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CASCADE HEAD TO FLORENCE.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
3 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Rain, Multnomah
- When
- February 22, 10:00 PM PST to February 23, 4:00 AM PST
- Where
- Multnomah County, Countywide
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 45.547, -122.415 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Polk
- When
- February 22, 10:00 PM PST to February 23, 4:00 AM PST
- Where
- Polk County, Countywide
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 44.904, -123.413 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
More
Every storm in Oregon in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, February 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: 5283246, 5283247, 5283248.