The above reports met the criteria for a High Wind Warning, but most of them occurred during a 9 hour gap between two High Wind Warnings. The first of these was issued at 1251 PST on 01/21 and cancelled at 0320 PST on 01/22.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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 reports met the criteria for a High Wind Warning, but most of them occurred during a 9 hour gap between two High Wind Warnings. The first of these was issued at 1251 PST on 01/21 and cancelled at 0320 PST on 01/22. The second warning was issued at 1215 PST on 01/22 and cancelled at 1826 PST on 01/22. The first warning did not verify. The second warning verified in zone ORZ021 and likely verified in ORZ022.Unfortunately, the spotter reportt was not relayed to the NWS until nearly a day later.
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 Jan 22, 3:00 AM PST, 2 hours earlier.
SOUTHWEST OREGON/NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
300 AM PST WED JAN 22 2003
MFR-RDD PRESSURE GRADIENT CURRENTLY NEAR 7 MB WHICH IS SUPPORTING
GUSTS EXCEEDING 40 MPH IN THE SHASTA VALLEY AND BREEEZY CONDITIONS
OVER SOME OF THE HIGHER TERRAIN IN JACKSON COUNTY. WILL KEEP THE
ADVISORY GOING TODAY FOR THE SHASTA VALLEY AS OFFSHORE SFC LOW
APPROACHES 130W. COASTAL AREAS NOT BLOWING YET AND THE GRADIENT
NORTH OF CAPE BLANCO HAS REMAINED OFFSHORE TONIGHT...NOT SUPPORTIVE
OF HIGH WINDS. CURRENT OBS AND FORECAST MODEL DATA ARE POINTING
TOWARD SOME LOCALLY WINDY WEATHER ON THE COAST...BUT FEEL THE
WARNING CAN BE DROPPED. MESO-ETA AND WORKSTATION ETA FORECASTS SEEM
TO HAVE A PRETTY GOOD HANDLE ON THE PRECIP...SHOWING LOTS OF
DOWNSLOPING WITH THE VARIED TERRAIN...UNLIKE THE WETTER GFS. THE
DRIER FORECAST LOOKS FAVORABLE WITH THE FLOW AT 700 MB SW AT 50 KTS.
CONSIDERING THAT OROGRAPHICS SHOULD BE THE ONLY MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO
PRECIP TODAY... WILL SCALE POPS DOWNWARD TOWARD THE MET GUIDANCE.
WILL MENTION LOCALLY WINDY FOR AREAS EAST OF THE CASCADES WHERE
SUMMER LAKE LOOKS THREATENED FOR THE STRONGEST WINDS.
COOLER AIR WILL MOVE INLAND TONIGHT AS EXPECTED WITH LOWERING SNOW
LEVELS BUT DIMINISHING PRECIP. THURSDAY CONTINUES TO LOOK DRY WITH
SOME SUNSHINE. THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT SHOULD BE FAIRLY
WET FOR SW OREGON AS OVERUNNING DEVELOPS AND A MODERATE VORT REACHES
THE COAST. A 100+ KT NWLY JET IS THEN PROGGED TO NOSE INTO THE AREA
FRI-FRI NIGHT AND WITH CONTINUED OVERUNNING THIS SCENARIO BODES
WELL FOR CONTINUED WET WEATHER. SATURDAY AND BEYOND WILL HAVE AT
LEAST A CHANCE FOR RAIN IN EACH PERIOD AS THE FLOW IS ADVERTISED TO
REMAIN ONSHORE AND ACTIVE. STAVISH
.MFR...GALE WARNING FLORENCE OR TO POINT ST GEORGE CA.
WIND ADVISORY SHASTA VALLEY CAZ081 TODAY.ORZ021>031-CAZ080>085-221430- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR 600 AM PST TUE JAN 21 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHERN OREGON AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA .DAY ONE...TODAY GALE WARNING FOR THE SOUTHERN OREGON COAST TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY GALE WARNING FOR THE SOUTHERN OREGON COAST FOR MOST OF THE PERIOD. HIGH WIND WATCH FOR THE SOUTH OREGON COAST FROM CAPE BLANCO SOUTHWARD LATE TONIGHT AND FOR ALL OF THE SOUTH OREGON COAST WEDNESDAY. SEE PDXCWFMFR AND PDXNPWMFR FOR FURTHER DETAILS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. GLASER
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Cape Blanco exceeded high wind warning criteria during this time span except for one observation. Peak sustained wind was 50 mph, the peak gusts was 63 mph.
Spotter CU34 3S Port Orford recorded a gust to 89 mph. It was reported to the NWS at 0603 PST on 01/23
Gold Beach had several peak gusts exceeding warning criteria. 59 mph at 0600 PST, 66 mph at 1000 PST, and 60 mph at 1100 PST.
Cape Arago recorded a gust to 58 mph.
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, January 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: 5339915, 5339845, 5339916, 5338977.