Flash Flood, Josephine
- When
- September 5, 5:50 AM PST to 7:45 AM PST
- Where
- Josephine County, Takilma
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 42.366, -123.556 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
See below.
Flash Flood in Oregon, September 5, 2003
A Flash Flood Warning, effective at the above listed times, was issued for extreme southern Josephine county in southwest Oregon. The warning was based on radar precipitation estimates over an area of favored thunderstorm development.
Where it happened
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.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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 Flash Flood Warning, effective at the above listed times, was issued for extreme southern Josephine county in southwest Oregon. The warning was based on radar precipitation estimates over an area of favored thunderstorm development. However, it appears that the radar estimates were overdone. Surveys of the RAWS in the area indicated little rainfall accumulation. A few hours after the warning expired, an NWS employee was sent to survey the area. He reported no flood damage or evidence of high waterflow on the creeks, but a person on the edge of the area of heavy rainfall received 1.6 inches of rain overnight. Therefore it appears that 2-3 inches of rain may have fallen in the area that got the most rainfall. However, it appears that the rain rate was low enough to allow most of it to soak into the ground. The NWS employee reported many fire starts as well, indicating that most of the area around the favored area remained relatively dry.
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 Sep 5, 1:50 AM PST, 4 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 5, 1:50 AM PST, 4 hours before
SOUTHWEST OREGON AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD, OR 250 AM PDT FRI SEP 5 2003 CONVECTION HAS DIMINISHED OVERNIGHT...BUT STILL A FEW THUNDERSTORMS OVER PORTIONS OF SISKIYOU AND MODOC COUNTY IN RESPONSE TO THE SHORTWAVE TROUGH OVER THE CALIFORNIA/OREGON BORDER. KLAMATH AND LAKE COUNTIES SHOULD BE THE FOCUS FOR A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AS THE TROUGH MOVES SLOWLY EAST TO NORTHEAST. SLIGHT COOLING BEHIND THIS SHORTWAVE TROUGH ON SATURDAY WITH DRIER AND STABLE SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT AHEAD OF A BROAD UPPER TROUGH. GRADUALLY INCREASING CLOUDS AND A CHANCE OF COASTAL SHOWERS SATURDAY NIGHT AS A COLD FRONT MOVES INLAND. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS...MAINLY ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE CASCADES...ON SUNDAY ALONG WITH SIGNIFICANT COOLING. COOL...DRY AND MOSTLY SUNNY BEHIND THE FRONT ON MONDAY WITH SHORT LIVED RIDGING. ANOTHER SLIGHTLY STRONGER UPPER TROUGH IS FORECAST TO MOVE ACROSS BRITISH COLUMBIA ON TUESDAY WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE TO CHANCE OF SHOWERS AS THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT MOVES ACROSS SOUTHERN OREGON AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. RIDGING WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY IS EXPECTED TO BRING HIGH TEMPERATURES BACK UP TO NORMAL LEVELS. DW .MFR...NONE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 5, 5:30 AM PST, 20 minutes before
ORZ021>031-CAZ080>085-061330- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR 630 AM PDT FRI SEP 05 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHERN OREGON AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA .DAY ONE...TODAY FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR SOUTHERN JOSEPHINE COUNTY UNTIL 745 AM. REFER TO PDXFFWMFR. .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.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Wildfire in California, September 5 to 10, 2003
- Wildfire in California, September 5 to 30, 2003
- Flash Flooding in Texas, September 5, 2003
- Flash Flooding in Florida, September 5, 2003
- Flash Flood in California, September 5, 2003
- Lightning Strike in Florida, September 5, 2003
- Tornadoes in Colorado, September 5, 2003
- Flood in Virginia, September 5 to 6, 2003
- Lightning Strike in Arizona, September 5, 2003
- Tornado in Florida, September 5, 2003
- Waterspout in Hawaiian Waters, September 5, 2003
- Waterspout in South Atlantic Coastal Waters, September 5, 2003
More
Every storm in Oregon in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, September 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: 5374873.