Just after 0600 PST on 11/09/02, a low-topped severe thunderstorm moved onshore east of Harbor, Oregon, and tracked east-northeast along Valley View Road. Large torpedo shaped hail approximately 3 inches long pelted Brookings and the Chetco river valley as far as 3 miles inland from Brookings.
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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.
Just after 0600 PST on 11/09/02, a low-topped severe thunderstorm moved onshore east of Harbor, Oregon, and tracked east-northeast along Valley View Road. Large torpedo shaped hail approximately 3 inches long pelted Brookings and the Chetco river valley as far as 3 miles inland from Brookings. This was followed by a period of silence, after which the waterspout moved onshore and became a weak tornado. Damaged and partially removed roofs, relocated sheds, damaged fences, and damaged houses were reported for a distance of several blocks along Valley View Road. Additional damage was reported west of Highway 101 in Harbor. Large hail was collected 5 miles to the northeast of the second damaged area. Witness descriptions and a storm survey indicated a tornadic event, with vacuum effects and the very loud noise. No injuries or fatalities were reported. No indication of this storm was seen on radar, and this office was not aware of this event until 9 hours after it occurred, so obviously no warning was issued.
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 9, 3:46 AM PST, 2 hours 19 minutes earlier.
SOUTHWEST OREGON/NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
230 AM PST FRI NOV 08 2002
FORECAST NOT IN NEED OF MUCH AMENDING. LITTLE CHANGE IN THE WEATHER
PATTERN THROUGH TONIGHT WITH SHOWERS AND COASTAL THUNDERSTORMS AS
ANOTHER COUPLE OF SHORTWAVES MOVE ACROSS OUR AREA IN WEST-SOUTHWEST
FLOW. WILL CONTINUE SNOW ADVISORY WITH WESTERN AND SOUTH CENTRAL
SISKIYOU COUNTY AND LESS THAN ADVISORY CRITERIA AMOUNTS ELSEWHERE IN
THE MOUNTAINS WITH SNOW LEVELS NEAR 5000 FEET DROPPING TO 4500 FEET
TONIGHT. SHORTWAVE RIDGING WILL COMMENCE ON SUNDAY WITH CONTINUED
SHOWERS AND SLIGHTLY HIGHER SNOW LEVELS...UP TO 5500 FEET. SHOWERS
WILL TAPER OFF SUNDAY NIGHT BUT MAINLY COASTAL RAIN WILL DEVELOP ON
MONDAY DUE TO OVERRUNNING FROM A WARM FRONT. THIS WILL BRING WARMER
TEMPERATURES AND CONSIDERABLY HIGHER SNOW LEVELS AS THE FRONT MOVES
TO THE NORTHEAST ACROSS OREGON. A BRIEF BREAK MONDAY NIGHT BEFORE THE
TRAILING COLD FRONT REACHES THE COAST EARLY TUESDAY AND MOVES INLAND
THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT. SHORTWAVE RIDGING WEDNESDAY WITH ONLY A SLIGHT
CHANCE TO CHANCE OF SHOWERS...STRONGER RIDGING FOR A DRY THURSDAY
THEN ANOTHER STRONG FRONT STILL ON TRACK TO ARRIVE FRIDAY. DW
.MFR...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FLORENCE TO POINT ST GEORGE OUT TO 60 NM
HIGH SURF ADVISORY ORZ021/022
SNOW ADVISORY TODAY ZONES CA080/082 ABOVE 5K FT.ORZ021>031-CAZ080>085-091430- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR 630 AM PST FRI NOV 08 2002 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHERN OREGON AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT GALE WARNING AND HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR SOUTHERN OREGON COASTAL WATERS...REFER TO PDXCWFMFR AND PDXMWSMFR. WINTER STORM WARNING SISKIYOU COUNTY AND SNOW ADVISORY FOR SOUTHERN OREGON CASCADES ...REFER TO PDXWSWMFR FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY GALE WARNING FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY FOR SOUTHERN OREGON COASTAL WATERS. REFER TO PDXCWFMFR. HIGH SURF CONDITIONS THROUGH SUNDAY. REFER TO PDXCWFMFR FOR DETAILS. SNOW ADVISORY SOUTHERN OREGON CASCADES AND SISKIYOUS AND SISKIYOU COUNTY IN NORHTERN CAL. REFER TO PDXWSWMFR FOR DETAILS. WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. HESS
The Medford radar (KMAX), 129 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:03 UTC.
1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
A spotter called at 1500 PST on 11/7 and reported the waterspout/tornado that occurred 9 hours earlier.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Oregon, 2002Warnings 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: 5322558.