Oregon, 2002

Extreme Cold in Oregon, November 1 to 4, 2002

November 1 to 4, 2002 · NWS PDT · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

10 extreme cold/wind chill, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
$60,000
Events
10

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 Oct 31, 8:10 PM PST, 3 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 31, 8:10 PM PST, 3 hours 50 minutes before
NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
810 PM PST THU OCT 31 2002

UPPER LEVEL HIGH WILL PERSIST OVER THE FORECAST AREA THROUGH THE
WEEKEND. WILL SEE A GRADUAL WARMING TREND WITH MORNING LOW REMAINING
WELL BELOW NORMAL. INVERSIONS WILL PERSIST IN SOME AREAS MAKING FOR
HAZY CONDITIONS. WILL MAKE SOME MINOR ADJUSTMENT TO TONIGHT LOW
TEMPERATURES IN AN EVENING ZONE UPDATE. JS

PDT 0000  ALW 0000  PSC 0000  YKM 0000

.KPDT...NONE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 31, 5:00 AM PST, 19 hours before
ORZ041>050-WAZ024>030-010000-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
500 AM PST THU OCT 31 2002

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

.DAY ONE... TODAY

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. VERY COLD
AND DRY AIR WILL REMAIN OVER THE REGION TODAY.

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

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. HIGH
PRESSURE WILL PERSIST OVER THE REGION WITH VERY DRY AIR AND BELOW
NORMAL TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE PERIOD.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Blue Mountains

When
November 1, 12:00 AM PST to November 4, 11:59 PM PST
Where
Blue Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

An arctic front moved through the state on October 29th, bringing much colder temperatures which lasted into the first four days in November. Some of the colder readings for the first four days of the month in degrees Fahrenheit included -9 at Seneca, -7 at Austin, -6 at Sunriver, -5 at Paulina, 0 at Madras, 6 at Joseph, and 8 at Union. Apples growers in Wasco county lost about 60,000 dollars worth of apples due to the cold temperatures.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Central Oregon

When
November 1, 12:00 AM PST to November 4, 11:59 PM PST
Where
Central Oregon forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

An arctic front moved through the state on October 29th, bringing much colder temperatures which lasted into the first four days in November. Some of the colder readings for the first four days of the month in degrees Fahrenheit included -9 at Seneca, -7 at Austin, -6 at Sunriver, -5 at Paulina, 0 at Madras, 6 at Joseph, and 8 at Union. Apples growers in Wasco county lost about 60,000 dollars worth of apples due to the cold temperatures.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Eastern Columbia River Gorge

When
November 1, 12:00 AM PST to November 4, 11:59 PM PST
Where
Eastern Columbia River Gorge forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
45.314, -120.689 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An arctic front moved through the state on October 29th, bringing much colder temperatures which lasted into the first four days in November. Some of the colder readings for the first four days of the month in degrees Fahrenheit included -9 at Seneca, -7 at Austin, -6 at Sunriver, -5 at Paulina, 0 at Madras, 6 at Joseph, and 8 at Union. Apples growers in Wasco county lost about 60,000 dollars worth of apples due to the cold temperatures.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Foothills of the Blue Mountains

When
November 1, 12:00 AM PST to November 4, 11:59 PM PST
Where
Foothills of the Blue Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

An arctic front moved through the state on October 29th, bringing much colder temperatures which lasted into the first four days in November. Some of the colder readings for the first four days of the month in degrees Fahrenheit included -9 at Seneca, -7 at Austin, -6 at Sunriver, -5 at Paulina, 0 at Madras, 6 at Joseph, and 8 at Union. Apples growers in Wasco county lost about 60,000 dollars worth of apples due to the cold temperatures.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Grand Ronde Valley

When
November 1, 12:00 AM PST to November 4, 11:59 PM PST
Where
Grand Ronde Valley forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
45.310, -118.009 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An arctic front moved through the state on October 29th, bringing much colder temperatures which lasted into the first four days in November. Some of the colder readings for the first four days of the month in degrees Fahrenheit included -9 at Seneca, -7 at Austin, -6 at Sunriver, -5 at Paulina, 0 at Madras, 6 at Joseph, and 8 at Union. Apples growers in Wasco county lost about 60,000 dollars worth of apples due to the cold temperatures.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, John Day Basin

When
November 1, 12:00 AM PST to November 4, 11:59 PM PST
Where
John Day Basin forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

An arctic front moved through the state on October 29th, bringing much colder temperatures which lasted into the first four days in November. Some of the colder readings for the first four days of the month in degrees Fahrenheit included -9 at Seneca, -7 at Austin, -6 at Sunriver, -5 at Paulina, 0 at Madras, 6 at Joseph, and 8 at Union. Apples growers in Wasco county lost about 60,000 dollars worth of apples due to the cold temperatures.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Lower Columbia Basin

When
November 1, 12:00 AM PST to November 4, 11:59 PM PST
Where
Lower Columbia Basin forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
45.506, -119.160 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An arctic front moved through the state on October 29th, bringing much colder temperatures which lasted into the first four days in November. Some of the colder readings for the first four days of the month in degrees Fahrenheit included -9 at Seneca, -7 at Austin, -6 at Sunriver, -5 at Paulina, 0 at Madras, 6 at Joseph, and 8 at Union. Apples growers in Wasco county lost about 60,000 dollars worth of apples due to the cold temperatures.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, North Central Oregon

When
November 1, 12:00 AM PST to November 4, 11:59 PM PST
Where
North Central Oregon forecast zone
Crop damage
$60,000
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

An arctic front moved through the state on October 29th, bringing much colder temperatures which lasted into the first four days in November. Some of the colder readings for the first four days of the month in degrees Fahrenheit included -9 at Seneca, -7 at Austin, -6 at Sunriver, -5 at Paulina, 0 at Madras, 6 at Joseph, and 8 at Union. Apples growers in Wasco county lost about 60,000 dollars worth of apples due to the cold temperatures.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Ochoco-John Day Highlands

When
November 1, 12:00 AM PST to November 4, 11:59 PM PST
Where
Ochoco-John Day Highlands forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

An arctic front moved through the state on October 29th, bringing much colder temperatures which lasted into the first four days in November. Some of the colder readings for the first four days of the month in degrees Fahrenheit included -9 at Seneca, -7 at Austin, -6 at Sunriver, -5 at Paulina, 0 at Madras, 6 at Joseph, and 8 at Union. Apples growers in Wasco county lost about 60,000 dollars worth of apples due to the cold temperatures.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Wallowa County

When
November 1, 12:00 AM PST to November 4, 11:59 PM PST
Where
Wallowa County forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
45.445, -117.595 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An arctic front moved through the state on October 29th, bringing much colder temperatures which lasted into the first four days in November. Some of the colder readings for the first four days of the month in degrees Fahrenheit included -9 at Seneca, -7 at Austin, -6 at Sunriver, -5 at Paulina, 0 at Madras, 6 at Joseph, and 8 at Union. Apples growers in Wasco county lost about 60,000 dollars worth of apples due to the cold temperatures.

What these are

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.

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, November 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: 5323226, 5323227, 5323228, 5323229, 5323230, 5323231, 5323295, 5323296, 5323297, 5323298.