1 wildfire, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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 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 Sep 13, 1:30 AM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.
NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR 230 AM PDT FRI SEP 13 2002 FIRE WEATHER...HIGH HAINES INDEX (HIGH POTENTIAL FOR LARGE PLUME FIRE DEVELOPMENT) EXPECTED FOR LATE SATURDAY INTO EARLY SUNDAY WITH VERY DRY CONDITIONS COMBINED WITH AN UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE. HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP VERY WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS OVER THE FORECAST AREA THROUGH SATURDAY. A SURFACE THERMAL INDUCED LOW PRESSURE AREA WILL REDEVELOP WEST OF THE CASCADES TODAY WITH THE TEMPERATURES A DEGREE OR TWO COOLER ACROSS EASTERN OREGON AND WASHINGTON. THEN THE THERMAL LOW AT THE SURFACE WILL SHIFT EAST OF THE CASCADES ON SATURDAY WITH 850 MB TEMPERATURES WARMING INTO THE MID 20S C. AS PER THURSDAY/S TEMPERATURES IT APPEARS THE COLUMBIA BASIN IS FULLY MIXING OUT OF THE MORNING INVERSIONS WITH THIS VERY WARM AIR MASS. EXPECT NEAR RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES IN MANY AREAS ON SATURDAY. THEN A CLOSED PACIFIC LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM THAT IS CURRENTLY WELL OFF THE CALIFORNIA COAST WILL OPEN UP AND MOVE INLAND SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY. THIS WILL BRING INCREASING MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY FOR A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ON SUNDAY. SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS COULD BE DRY AT THE START UNTIL THE ATMOSPHERE BECOMES MORE SATURATED. THEN EXPECT BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS TO DEVELOP LATE SUNDAY INTO MONDAY AS A STRONG UPPER JET STREAM MOVES OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COMBINED WITH TIGHT SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENTS. ALSO EXPECT SIGNIFICANT COOLING TO TAKE PLACE WITH THIS TROUGH SUNDAY AND MONDAY. RSC. EXTENDED...A FAST WESTERLY FLOW WILL BE OVER THE REGION DURING THE EXTENDED. THIS MAKES TIMING OF SYSTEMS DIFFICULT. THERE WILL BE A COUPLE OF SYSTEMS PASSING THROUGH THE PAC NW ACCOMPANIED BY A STRONG JET. BASICALLY COOLER WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN AT TIMES THROUGH THE EXTENDED. JS PDT 000 ALW 000 PSC 000 YKM 000 KPDT...VCP 32...OPERATIONAL. .KPDT...NONE.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Ewe Neck fire was a lightning sparked fire which burned 100 acres. A total of 250 firefighters fought this fire, along with retardant drops by planes and helicopters.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, September 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: 5316323.