A High Wind Warning was issued for the coastal headlands of Oregon zones ORZ021/022 at 0330 PST on 11/16. No cancellation statement was issued, an error, but the warning specified that winds would diminish the afternoon of 11/16.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 Oregon zones ORZ021/022 at 0330 PST on 11/16. No cancellation statement was issued, an error, but the warning specified that winds would diminish the afternoon of 11/16. Cape Blanco verified the warning for 9 hours, from 0400-1300 PST. The strongest windspeed and gust at that location is listed above.
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 Nov 16, 2:30 AM PST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.
SOUTHWEST OREGON/NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
230 AM PST SAT NOV 16 2002
THERE ARE SOME UPDATES TO MAKE TO THE FORECAST THIS MORNING. MAIN
UPDATE IS TO ACCOUNT FOR STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS AHEAD OF THE COLD
FRONT WHICH HAS RECENTLY MOVED INSIDE OF 130W. WILL ISSUE A HIGH WIND
WARNING FOR COASTAL HEADLANDS AND WIND ADVISORY FOR THE SHASTA
VALLEY. THE STRONG WINDS WILL BE RELATIVELY SHORT LIVED AS THE FRONT
WILL MOVE QUICKLY ONSHORE THIS MORNING AND SPREAD RAIN TO THE
CASCADES BY EARLY AFTERNOON THEN DISSIPATE AS IT MAKES IT EAST OF THE
CASCADES BY LATE AFTERNOON. RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL BE LARGELY LESS
THAN A QUARTER OF AN INCH BUT SEE NEED TO RAISE POPS TODAY AND ALSO
EVENING WEST SIDE POPS SLIGHTLY WITH POSSIBILITY OF POST-FRONTAL
SHOWERS. CHANCE OF RAIN WILL BE LOWER TO THE SOUTH. THE SNOW LEVEL
FORECAST LOOKS VERY GOOD WITH LEVELS FALLING TO NEAR 6000 FEET TODAY
AND TO 5000 FEET DURING THE EVENING. SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED TO TAPER
OFF BY MIDNIGHT WITH HIGH PRESSURE BEGINNING TO BUILD EXCEPT
DRIZZLE/LIGHT SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING NEAR NORTH
BEND.
BY SUNDAY AFTERNOON HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD OVER OUR REGION WITH
DECREASING CLOUDS. HIGH LEVEL CIRRUS CLOUDS ARE EXPECTED TO BE
EXTENSIVE SUNDAY NIGHT WHICH MAY HINDER DEVELOPMENT OF FOG BUT STILL
EXPECT PATCHY TO AREAS OF VALLEY FOG MONDAY MORNING. A WEAK WARM
FRONT TRAVELING OVER THE TOP OF THE RIDGE MAY BRING A LIGHT SHOWER TO
NORTH BEND ON MONDAY OTHERWISE IT WILL BE PLEASANT AND SEASONABLE
WITH CONTINUED CIRRUS COVERAGE.
IN THE LONG TERM I WILL TAKE OUT ANY MENTION OF PRECIP AS THE
EXTENDED MODELS ARE LOOKING STRONGER WITH RIDGING TUESDAY AND
WEDNESDAY. THE NEXT TROUGH WILL SPLIT AS IT ENCOUNTERS THE RIDGE ON
THURSDAY WITH THE THREAT OF RAIN HEADED WELL TO THE NORTH. MODELS
HAVE NOT BEEN CONSISTENT BEYOND THURSDAY BUT GFS SOLUTION LOOKS
REASONABLE WITH A REX BLOCK SETTING UP. THIS WILL PROVIDE DRY AND
WARMER THAN NORMAL CONDITIONS. DW
.MFR...HIGH WIND WARNING TODAY AT COASTAL HEADLANDS ORZ021/022
WIND ADVISORY TODAY FOR THE SHASTA VALLEY CAZ081
GALE WARNING PT ST GEORGE CA TO FLORENCE OR.ORZ021>031-CAZ080>085-161430- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR 630 AM PST FRI NOV 15 2002 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHERN OREGON AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY GALE FORCE WINDS POSSIBLE SATURDAY FOR THE SOUTHERN OREGON COASTAL WATERS FROM FLORENCE TO POINT ST GEORGE. SEE THE LATEST COASTAL WATERS FORECAST...PDXCWFMFR...FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION. 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.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Cape Blanco reported winds 56 mph gusting to 64 mph.
A spotter 7 miles south of Port Orford reported a wind gust of 69 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, November 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: 5322556, 5322555.