Wildfire in Oregon, October 24 to 27, 2003

Name: Wildfire in Oregon, October 24 to 27, 2003
Start: 2003-10-24T07:00
End: 2003-10-27T15:00
Location: Oregon

October 24 to 27, 2003 · NWS MFR · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS MFR wrote it up.

A Red Flag Warning was issued for Oregon fire weather zones 619/620/621/622 effective at the above times. Fire weather zone 618 was added at 0950 PST on 10/25 and southern zone 623 was added at 1430 PST on 10/26. The warning for southern 623 was cancelled at 0645 PST on 10/27 and the zone 618 warning was cancelled at the same time as the remaining zones. This was a strong sustained event and a bunch of observing station easily verified this warning.

What forecasters said that day

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 Oct 24, 1:37 AM PST, 5 hours 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 24, 1:37 AM PST, 5 hours 23 minutes before

SOUTHWEST OREGON AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD, OR
237 AM PDT FRI OCT 24 2003

.DISCUSSION...
VERY IMPRESSIVE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE FORECAST ACROSS THE EASTERN
PACIFIC INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. IN FACT...COULD SEE RECORD
BREAKING HIGHS THIS WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK. EXPECT VERY STEEP
SURFACE BASED INVERSIONS TO DEVELOP OVERNIGHT WITH RIDGES IN THE 50S
AND LOWER 60S AND VALLEYS IN THE MID 30S TO LOWER 40S ON THE WEST
SIDE. THE EAST SIDE SHOULD HAVE RIDGES IN THE 40S AND VALLEYS IN THE
MID 20S TO LOWER 30S. OTHER THAN PATCHY FOG IN THE WEST SIDE VALLEYS
THIS MORNING...IT SHOULD BE TOO DRY FOR VALLEY FOG.

HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY RAISED EAST SIDE RIDGE LOW TEMPERATURES THIS
WEEK...AND NUDGED HIGH TEMPERATURES UP THIS WEEKEND FOR MANY AREAS.
THE CHETCO EFFECT WILL LIKELY OCCUR SATURDAY WITH MODERATE OFFSHORE
FLOW...PUSHING BROOKINGS INTO THE 80S.

IN THE EXTENDED...THE GFS/UKMET/CANADIAN MODELS ALL RETROGRADE THE
UPPER RIDGE OFFSHORE AND DROP SIGNIFICANT ENERGY DOWN THE EAST SIDE
OF THE RIDGE. THE GFS IS THE MOST EXTREME WITH A DEEP LOW ACROSS THE
INTERMOUNTAIN WEST LATE NEXT WEEK. THE GFS WOULD RESULT IN AN EARLY
ARCTIC AIRMASS RACING DOWN THE ROCKIES AND SPREADING WESTWARD. 12Z
GFS ENSEMBLE/ECMWF DO NOT SHOW THIS EXTREME PATTERN AND WILL STICK
WITH THESE SOLUTIONS FOR NOW AS THE STRONG UPPER RIDGE WOULD MOST
LIKELY BE FLATTENED RATHER THAN RETROGRADED. INTERESTING TO NOTE
THAT LAST YEAR HALLOWEEN NIGHT WAS THE COLDEST NIGHT (23 DEG F) OF
THE ENTIRE SEASON IN MEDFORD...AND THE GFS SOLUTION WOULD ALSO BRING
A VERY COLD NIGHT.

&&

.MFR...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FLORENCE TO CA BORDER.
CA...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CA BORDER TO PT ST. GEORGE.

&&

SANDLER

Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 24, 5:30 AM PST, 1 hour 30 minutes before

ORZ021>031-CAZ080>085-251330-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
630 AM PDT FRI OCT 24 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...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

HESS

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Coos

When: October 24, 7:00 AM PST to October 27, 3:00 PM PST
Where: Coos County, Countywide
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.185, -124.093 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below.

Wildfire, Curry

When: October 24, 7:00 AM PST to October 27, 3:00 PM PST
Where: Curry County, Countywide
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.467, -124.215 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below.

Wildfire, Josephine

When: October 24, 7:00 AM PST to October 27, 3:00 PM PST
Where: Josephine County, Countywide
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.366, -123.556 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below.

Wildfire, Jackson

When: October 24, 7:00 AM PST to October 27, 3:00 PM PST
Where: Jackson County, Countywide
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.432, -122.728 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below.

Wildfire, Klamath

When: October 24, 7:00 AM PST to October 27, 3:00 PM PST
Where: Klamath County, Countywide
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.686, -121.650 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below.

What these are

Wildfire: A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Oregon in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Oregon, October 2003

Sources

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: 5337168, 5337169, 5337170, 5337171, 5337172.