A Heavy Snow Warning was issued for Oregon zones ORZ021/022/023/024/025/026 at 1122 PST on 01/02/04 and expired at 1734 PST on 01/02/04. As the reports above indicate, this was a valid warning, but it was issued late.
Every event with a place to put it; 8 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.
A Heavy Snow Warning was issued for Oregon zones ORZ021/022/023/024/025/026 at 1122 PST on 01/02/04 and expired at 1734 PST on 01/02/04. As the reports above indicate, this was a valid warning, but it was issued late. It also should have included ORZ027.
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 2, 3:45 AM PST, 3 hours 45 minutes earlier.
SOUTHWEST OREGON AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD, OR
345 AM PST FRI JAN 2 2004
.DISCUSSION...
SNOW SHOWERS OCCURING OVER PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST OREGON...MAINLY
ALONG AND WEST OF THE CASCADES AND OVER MUCH OF SISKIYOU COUNTY AT
ELEVATIONS ABOVE 1000 FEET. WILL CONTINUE WITH SNOW ADVISORY FOR THE
REGION ALONG AND WEST OF THE CASCADES IN OREGON FOR SOME
ACCUMULATING SNOW ABOVE 1000 FEET THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND FOR WESTERN
SISKIYOU COUNTY ABOVE 1500 FEET. CURRENTLY SNOW SHOWERS REACHING TO
THE VALLEY FLOOR IN THE ROUGE VALLEY AND WOULD EXPECT ANY PRECIP
THROUGH SUNDAY WOULD LIKELY BE IN THE FORM OF SNOW WITH H850
BECOMING COOLER AND THICKNESS VALUES 1000-700MB REMAINING LOW.
OVERALL PATTERN HAS COLD UPPER TROUGH OVER REGION WITH OCCASIONAL
IMPULSES BRINGING VISIBILITY DOWN AT TIMES IN MODERATE SNOW SHOWERS.
SNOW ADVISORY FOR THE WEST SIDE MAY BE REQUIRED THROUGH BULK OF
SUNDAY. SNOW LEVELS WILL ACTUALLY LOWER TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY
NIGHT. ON SUNDAY CHANCE FOR SHOWERS TO DECREASE SOME AS UPPER TROUGH
WEAKENS AND SHIFTS EAST BUT SNOW LEVELS REMAINING BELOW 2000 FEET
MOST AREAS. PATTERN BEGINS TO TRANSITION BY LATE SUNDAY INTO SUNDAY
NIGHT AS UPPER FLOW BECOMES MORE ZONAL.
BY SUNDAY NIGHT WARM AIR ADVECTION BEGINS AND WESTERLY 100 KT JET
SETS UP OVER CENTRAL AND NRN OREGON ON SUNDAY. EXPECT WINDY
CONDITIONS TO AFFECT THE COAST...SHASTA VALLEY...AND PERHAPS THE
EAST SIDE BEGINNING MONDAY AS A WARM FRONT MOVES INLAND FROM THE
COAST BY LATE MORNING.
.EXTENDED...A VERY WET PATTERN INDICATED BY LATEST GFS MONDAY
THROUGH EARLY WEDNESDAY AS A PERSISTENT ONSHORE FLOW SETS UP WITH
STRONG WARM AIR ADVECTION. SURFACE LOW FORECAST TO BE OFFSHORE
WASHINGTON ON MONDAY. BY MONDAY NIGHT RIGHT FRONT ENTRANCE REGION OF
JET ENTERS SW OREGON WITH W-SW WINDS 110KT BY LATE MONDAY NIGHT.
THIS WILL SUPPLY SOLID TRAIN OF MOISTURE INTO THE REGION WITH JET
SLIDING SLOWLY ESE ON TUESDAY. SNOW LEVELS TO RISE ABOVE 3500 FEET
MANY AREAS MONDAY WITH RAIN AND SNOW AND LEVELS TO BE ABOVE 5000
FEET FOR THE WEST SIDE MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY WITH EAST SIDE
4-4.5K. EXPECT HIGH AMOUNTS OF PRECIP TO AFFECT THE WEST SIDE OF
OREGON AND WESTERN SISKIYOU COUNTY WITH THIS EVENT STRETCHING FROM
MONDAY INTO EARLY WEDNESDAY WITH FLOOD POTENTIAL FOR WEST SIDE
OREGON ZONES AND WESTERN SISKIYOU COUNTY CALIF BY TUESDAY. WILL
ISSUE A FLOOD POTENTIAL OUTLOOK FOR THIS EVENT. BY WEDNESDAY THE
COLD FRONT TO MOVE TO THE COAST AND INLAND DURING THE LATTER PART OF
THE DAY WITH PRECIP CHANCES DECREASING LATE IN THE DAY TO SHOWERS AS
UPPER TROUGH AND FRONT MOVE ACROSS REGION.
&&
.MFR...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...SNOW ADVISORY TODAY >1000 SW OR ZONES 021>28.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FLORENCE OR TO CA BORDER.
CA...SNOW ADVISORY TODAY >1500 CA ZONE 080.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CA BORDER TO PT ST GEORGE CA.
&&
MWHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR 605 AM PST FRI JAN 2 2004 CAZ080-ORZ021>028-031430- CENTRAL DOUGLAS COUNTY-CURRY COUNTY COAST- EASTERN CURRY COUNTY AND JOSEPHINE COUNTY- EASTERN DOUGLAS COUNTY FOOTHILLS-JACKSON COUNTY- SISKIYOU MOUNTAINS AND SOUTH OREGON CASCADES- SOUTH CENTRAL OREGON CASCADES-SOUTH CENTRAL OREGON COAST- WESTERN SISKIYOU COUNTY- 605 AM PST FRI JAN 2 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHERN OREGON AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA .DAY ONE...TODAY SNOW ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT...SEE PDXWSWMFR FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. CAZ081>085-ORZ029>031-031430- CENTRAL AND EASTERN LAKE COUNTY-CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MODOC COUNTY- CENTRAL SISKIYOU COUNTY-KLAMATH BASIN- NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST SISKIYOU COUNTY- NORTHEAST KLAMATH COUNTY AND WESTERN LAKE COUNTY- NORTHEAST SISKIYOU COUNTY AND NORTHWEST MODOC COUNTY- SOUTH CENTRAL SISKIYOU COUNTY- 605 AM PST FRI JAN 2 2004 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. MO
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
8 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
The cooperative observer at Crater Lake National Park reported a 24 hour snowfall total of 20.5 inches.
An NWS employee reported 7 inches of snow in 24 hours at Rogue River.
Spotter JO01 in Grants Pass reported 4.5 inches of snow in 10 hours ending at 1000 PST.
Spotter JA70 in Rogue River reported 7 inches of snow in 24 hours ending at 1030 PST.
Spotter JO41 in Grants Pass reported 7 inches of snow in 24 hours ending at 1100 PST.
Spotter JA05 4n Eagle Point reported 5 inches of snow between 0300 and 1000 PST.
Spotter JO79 1.5W Williams reported 10 inches of snow between 1900 PST on 01/01 and 1200 PST on 01/02.
Spotter JO86 at Cave Junction reported 11.5 inches of snow in 24 hours ending at noon on 01/02.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, January 2004
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: 5380985, 5380843, 5380961, 5380962, 5380963, 5380964, 5380965, 5380966.