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 Aug 19, 1:45 AM PST, 5 hours 15 minutes earlier.
NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR 245 AM PDT TUE AUG 19 2003 .TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT...SKIES ARE CLEAR THIS MORNING AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING COLD FRONT. THIS WEAK FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST THIS AFTERNOON...ALLOWING SOME MARINE AIR TO FILTER ACROSS THE CASCADES. WINDS WILL ALSO INCREASE ACROSS THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON...WHICH WILL CAUSE AREAS OF BLOWING DUST TO OCCUR ACROSS THE COLUMBIA BASIN AND FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUES MOUNTAINS. THIS SYSTEM MAY ALSO TRIGGER ISOLATED DRY THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTHEAST OREGON LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. WINDS WILL GRADUALLY TAPER OFF OVERNIGHT...AS A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS BACK OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST BY WEDNESDAY. THE RIDGE AXIS WILL SHIFT EAST ON THURSDAY...ALLOWING MOISTURE MOVING AROUND THE HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM TO FILTER INTO THE REGION BY THURSDAY EVENING... BRINGING ANOTHER CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO THE REGION. PALMER .FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY...THE LARGE AMPLITUDE UPPER LEVEL PROGRESSIVE WAVE IN THE GULF OF ALASKA WILL CONTINUE STEERING A SHORT WAVE NORTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA ON FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT FOR SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THE PROGRESSIVE LARGE AMPLITUDE WAVE IN THE WESTERLIES WILL MOVE THROUGH THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST ON SATURDAY FOR A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THE WAVE WILL MOVE OUT OF THE FORECAST AREA ON SUNDAY AND WILL BE REPLACED BY WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT...WHICH WILL CONTINUE ON MONDAY. THUS SUNDAY AND MONDAY ARE EXPECTED TO BE DRY AND STABLE. POLAN PDT 000 ALW 000 PSC 000 YKM 000 .KPDT...NONE.
ORZ041>050-WAZ024>030-201200- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR 500 AM PDT TUE AUG 19 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST OREGON AS WELL AS SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON. .DAY ONE... THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. A WEAK COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST TODAY WILL BRINGING BREEZY WINDS ACROSS MUCH OF THE COLUMBIA BASIN AND KITTITAS VALLEY. THIS SYSTEM MAY ALSO TRIGGER ISOLATED DRY THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTHEAST OREGON AS WELL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Lightning Complex Fire was a lightning sparked fire which burned 16,028 acres, destroying one structure. The fire burned shrubs, grass, and timber. The cost of fighting the fire topped 1.1 million dollars.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, August 2003
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: 5333630.