No High Wind Warning was in effect during this short-lived episode, but the above observations at Cape Arago met warning criteria.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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.
No High Wind Warning was in effect during this short-lived episode, but the above observations at Cape Arago met warning criteria.
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 30, 8:30 PM PST, 2 hours 10 minutes earlier.
SOUTHWEST OREGON/NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR 830 PM PST THU JAN 30 2003 REGION CONTINUES UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF A MILD AND VERY MOIST AIR MASS THIS EVENING...BUT WITH LITTLE DYNAMICS TO PRODUCE MUCH IN THE WAY OF RAINFALL. SW TO NE ORIENTED COLD FRONT NEARLY STATIONARY SEVERAL HUNDRED MILES OFF THE OREGON COAST AS A SERIES OF WAVES CONTINUE RIPPLING ALONG THE FRONT OVERNIGHT. LATEST MODEL DATA SUGGESTS SLOWER SE MOVEMENT OF FRONT FRIDAY AND THIS IS REFLECTED IN THE QPF FORECAST. ROGUE VALLEY MAY NOT SEE MUCH RAIN TIL FRIDAY NIGHT WHEN FRONT FINALLY GETS CLOSER. LIKE THE SPEED OF THE AVN MODEL WHICH BRINGS THE BACK EDGE OF THE COLD FRONT TO MEDFORD AROUND 12Z SAT. COLDER AIR WILL SPREAD QUICKLY IN BEHIND THE FRONT BEGINNING LATE FRIDAY NIGHT AND BY EARLY SATURDAY MORNING SNOW LEVELS EXPECTED TO BE AT OR BELOW 5K. MAY NEED A SNOW ADVISORY FOR THE CASCADES FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SAT MORNING. HOLTZ .MFR...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FLORENCE TO PT ST GEORGE.
ORZ021>031-CAZ080>085-311430- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR 630 AM PST THU JAN 30 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHERN OREGON AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA .DAY ONE...TODAY GALE WARNING FLORENCE OR TO PT ST. GEORGE CA. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. ORR
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Cape Arago recorded sustained winds in excess of 40 mph during this time stretch. The highest sustained wind was 43 mph.
Cape Arago recorded a peak gust of 59 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: 5338983, 5338984.