The above listed observation barely met the criteria for a Heavy Snow Warning. This was the only report received that verified a warning.
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 episode as NWS MFR wrote it up.
The above listed observation barely met the criteria for a Heavy Snow Warning. This was the only report received that verified a warning. A Snow Advisory was in effect for most of the previous day and was cancelled at 0445 PST on 12/14...nearly 4 hours before this report was received. A snow advisory was likely the best product for covering this event.
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 Dec 14, 2:50 AM PST, 5 hours 10 minutes earlier.
SOUTHWEST OREGON AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD, OR
250 AM PST SUN DEC 14 2003
.DISCUSSION...
BUSY NIGHT TONIGHT WITH NUMEROUS WEATHER AND HYDROLOGIC CONCERNS.
THE COLD FRONT MOVED ACROSS SOUTHWESTERN OREGON AND PRODUCED COPIOUS
AMOUNT OF RAIN. SNOW LEVEL DROPPED BELOW 1000 FEET IN DOUGLAS COUNTY
WITH SNOW REPORTED IN THE CITY. SNOW WAS ALSO REPORTED IN THE
SURROUNDING HILLSIDE OF JACKSON COUNTY. SATELLITE PICTURE AND RADAR
SHOW BACK EDGE OF THE FRONTAL CLOUD BANDS IS MOVING INLAND AND
PRECIPITATION HAS TAPERED OFF ON THE WEST SIDE. EXPECT SHOWERS TO
END BY DAYBREAK ON THE WEST SIDE. AND LINGER ACROSS THE EAST SIDE
THROUGHOUT TODAY. AIR MASS IS VERY UNSTABLE WITH VERY COLD AIR
ALOFT. AS THIS COLD AIR MOVES INLAND...EXPECT INSTABILITY SHOWERS TO
DEVELOP BY MID MORNING WITH POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORM AT THE COAST. SNOW
LEVEL WILL REMAIN LOW ESPECIALLY IN CONVECTIVE SHOWERS AREAS. WILL
ALLOW THE CURRENT SNOW ADVISORY TO EXPIRE WITH THIS MORNING PACKAGE.
BY THIS EVENING SHOWERS WILL END ACROSS OUR FORECAST AREA EXCEPT IN
THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AS THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE MOVES IN FROM THE
WEST. WITH PLENTY OF MOISTURE WE COULD SEE WIDESPREAD FOG FOR BOTH
WEST AND EAST SIDE AND COULD BE LOCALLY DENSE. ON MONDAY NIGHT
ANOTHER COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO APPROACH THE COASTAL WATERS WITH
CHANCE OF RAIN OVER THE NORTHERN ZONES. THE FRONT IS EXPECTED TO
SLIDE TO THE NORTH WITH PRECIPITATION MAINLY ON THE WEST SIDE.
EXTENDED...NEW GFS SHOWS A MUCH STRONGER FRONT MOVING ACROSS OUR
FORECAST AREA ON THURSDAY. THIS FRONT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE
ANOTHER STRONG WIND EVENT FOR THE COAST AND HIGHER TERRAIN INLAND.
WILL CONTINUE WITH THE CURRENT TREND OF WET PATTERN IN THE SECOND
HALF OF THE WEEK.
&&
.MFR...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY...FLORENCE TO OR/CA BORDER.
FLOOD WARNING FOR THE NORTH FORK COQUILLE AT MYRTLE POINT.
FLOOD WARNING FOR THE SOUTH FORK COQUILLE AT MYRTLE POINT.
FLOOD WARNING FOR THE COQUILLE RIVER AT COQUILLE.
FLOOD WARNING FOR DEER CREEK AT ROSEBURG.
FLOOD WARNING FOR ELK CREEK AT DRAIN.
FLOOD WATCH FOR THE ROGUE RIVER FROM AGNESS TO GOLD BEACH.
HIGH SURF ADVISORY ORZ021-022 TODAY.
CA...SCA...OR/CA BORDER TO POINT ST. GEORGE CA.
&&
FBHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR 534 AM PST SUN DEC 14 2003 ORZ021>023-151430- CENTRAL DOUGLAS COUNTY-CURRY COUNTY COAST-SOUTH CENTRAL OREGON COAST- 534 AM PST SUN DEC 14 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHERN OREGON AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA .DAY ONE...TODAY FLOOD WARNING IN EFFECT...SEE PDXFLSMFR FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. CAZ080>085-ORZ024>031-151430- CENTRAL AND EASTERN LAKE COUNTY-CENTRAL SISKIYOU COUNTY- EASTERN CURRY COUNTY AND JOSEPHINE COUNTY- EASTERN DOUGLAS COUNTY FOOTHILLS-JACKSON COUNTY-KLAMATH BASIN- MODOC COUNTY-NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST SISKIYOU COUNTY- NORTHEAST SISKIYOU AND NORTHWEST MODOC COUNTIES- NORTHERN AND EASTERN KLAMATH COUNTY AND WESTERN LAKE COUNTY- SISKIYOU MOUNTAINS AND SOUTHERN OREGON CASCADES- SOUTH CENTRAL OREGON CASCADES-SOUTH CENTRAL SISKIYOU COUNTY- WESTERN SISKIYOU COUNTY- 534 AM PST SUN DEC 14 2003 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...MONDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. ORR
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OREGON
711 AM PST SUN DEC 14 2003
TIME(PST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0417 AM HUGO OR
12/14/03 JOSEPHINE SPOTTER JO71 HUGO RD AND
TUNNEL LOOP RD REPORTED
1.34 INCHES FOR RAIN FOR
24 HOURS ENDING AT 4 AM.
0611 AM GOLD BEACH OR
12/14/03 CURRY SPOTTER CU12 IN GOLD BEACH
REPORTED 4.18 INCHES OF
RAIN FOR 24 HOURS ENDING
AT 6 AM.
0613 AM ASHLAND OR
12/14/03 JACKSON FREDERIC REPORTED ABOUT 1
INCH OF SNOW IN ASHLAND.
0647 AM GOLD BEACH OR
12/14/03 CURRY SPOTTER CU39 IN GOLD BEACH
RECEIVED 4.00 INCHES OF
RAIN PAST 24 HOURS ENDING
AT 7 AM.
0708 AM OR
12/14/03 JACKSON SPOTTER JA29 3 MILES EAST
OF JACKSON VILL REPORTED
1.04 INCHES OF RAIN SINCE
3 PM YESTERDAY AFTERNOON.
0709 AM COQUILLE OR
12/14/03 COOS SPOTTER CU14 IN COQUILLE
REPORTED 3.17 INCHES OF
RAIN FOR 24 HOURS ENDING
AT 7 AM.PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OREGON
755 AM PST SUN DEC 14 2003
TIME(PST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0744 AM GRANTS PASS OR
12/14/03 JOSEPHINE SPOTTER JO30 JUST WEST OF
FAIR GROUNDS RECEIVED 1.5
INCHES OF RAIN FOR 24
HOURS ENDING A 7 AM.
0746 AM COOS BAY OR
12/14/03 COOS SPOTTER CO48 IN COS BAY
REPORTED 3.80 INCHES OF
RAIN FOR 24 HOURS ENDING
AT 7 AM.
0747 AM COOS BAY OR
12/14/03 COOS SPOTTER CO77 REPORTED 3.20
INCHES OF RAIN FOR 24
HOURS ENDING AT 7 AM.
0753 AM ROSEBURG OR
12/14/03 DOUGLAS SPOTTER DO20 RECEIVED 2.37
INCHES OF RAIN FOR 24
HOURS ENDING AT 7 AM. 1.5
INCHES OF SNOW.The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Spotter KL97 reported 6 inches of snow in 10 hours ending at 0800 PST.
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, December 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: 5328528.