Extreme Cold in Oregon, September 10 to 11, 2002

Name: Extreme Cold in Oregon, September 10 to 11, 2002
Start: 2002-09-10T14:26
End: 2002-09-11T08:00
Location: Oregon

September 10 to 11, 2002 · NWS MFR · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

A Frost Warning was issued for the above zones effective at the above times. Reported low temperatures ranged from 35 to 40, so it appears that this warning verified.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 MFR wrote it up.

A Frost Warning was issued for the above zones effective at the above times. Reported low temperatures ranged from 35 to 40, so it appears that this warning verified.

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 Medford, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 10, 1:30 PM PST, 56 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 10, 1:30 PM PST, 56 minutes before

SOUTHWEST OREGON/NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
230 PM PDT TUE SEP 10 2002

UNSEASONABLY WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS CONTINUE INTO THE WEEKEND AS
UPPER LEVEL RIDGE RESIDES OVER REGION. SLIGHT COOLDOWN CONTINUES TO
BE ON TRACK FRO SATURDAY AS RIFGE MOVES SLIGHTLY WEST AND SW SLIPS
DOWN EAST SIDE...USHERING IN SLIGHTLYY COLLER AIR MASS. MODELS
SHOWING GREAT INCONSISTENCY BOTH BETWEEN MODELS AND RUN TO RUN WITH
SYSTEM APPROACHING ON TUESDAY...AND HAVE SLOWED TREND TO DEEPER
TROUGH SOLUTION AND HAVE INTRODUCED 20 POPS ALONG COAST SARTING
MONDAY AFTERNOON INTO GRIDS. AS CONFIDENCE WITH EASRLIER PASSAGE OF
SYSTEM IS LOW. OVERALL A MOST PLEASANT WEEK IN STORE. SVEN

.MFR...FROST WARNING TONIGHT EAST OF THE CASCADES...SMALL CRAFT
ADVISORY CAPE BLANCO OR TO PT ST GEORGE CA.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Klamath Basin

When: September 10, 2:26 PM PST to September 11, 8:00 AM PST
Where: Klamath Basin forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.686, -121.650 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northern & Eastern Klamath County & Western Lake County

When: September 10, 2:26 PM PST to September 11, 8:00 AM PST
Where: Northern & Eastern Klamath County & Western Lake County forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.740, -121.018 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Central & Eastern Lake County

When: September 10, 2:26 PM PST to September 11, 8:00 AM PST
Where: Central & Eastern Lake County forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.793, -120.387 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below.

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

Every storm in Oregon in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Oregon, September 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: 5320487, 5320488, 5320489.