Flood in Oregon, December 31, 2005

Name: Flood in Oregon, December 31, 2005
Start: 2005-12-31T04:00
End: 2005-12-31T08:45
Location: Oregon

December 31, 2005 · NWS MFR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

15 feet at 31/0530 PST, and fell below flood stage at 31/0845 PST. A Flood Warning was issued for the area at 31/0910 PST, and cancelled at 31/2240.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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: 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.

The North Fork of the Coquille River at Myrtle Point exceeded flood stage (35.0 feet) at 31/0400 PST, crested at 35.15 feet at 31/0530 PST, and fell below flood stage at 31/0845 PST. A Flood Warning was issued for the area at 31/0910 PST, and cancelled at 31/2240.

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 Dec 31, 3:14 AM PST, 46 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 31, 3:14 AM PST, 46 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
314 AM PST SAT DEC 31 2005

.DISCUSSION...ACTIVE PATTERN CONTINUES THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK AS A
SERIES OF FRONTS PASSES THROUGH THE REGION. HIGH DEWPOINTS WITH A
BRIEF BREAK IN HIGHER CLOUD COVER OVER THE WEST SIDE HAS ALLOWED FOG
TO DEVELOP OR WILL SOON DEVELOP IN MOST OF THE WEST SIDE VALLEYS
THIS MORNING. THE NEXT SYSTEM BARRELING IN AT AROUND 127W SHOULD
COME ASHORE EARLY THIS MORNING AND BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF RAIN TO
THE REGION...BUT WITH HALF OR LESS QPF AMOUNTS AND RATES THAN
YESTERDAY. THIS WILL AGGRAVATE SATURATED SOILS AND CAUSE LOCALIZED
SMALL STREAM FLOODING AND SLIDES BUT SHOULD BE LOW ENOUGH TO ALLOW
MAIN STEM CREEKS AND RIVERS TO BEGIN TO SUBSIDE BY THE AFTERNOON.
SNOW LEVELS WILL START AROUND 5000 FEET THIS MORNING BEFORE RISING
ABOVE 5000 FEET IN THE AFTERNOON. COLD POOL MOVES IN WITH THIS
SYSTEM DROPPING SNOW LEVELS DOWN ON THE TAIL END. A GOOD AMOUNT OF
INSTABILITY ACCOMPANIES THIS SYSTEM WITH 500 MB TEMPS OF NEAR -30C
SHOULD PROVIDE STRONG MECHANISM IN CONJUNCTION WITH A 100KT JET
BRUSHING ACROSS THE REGION IN THE EVENING. WILL ISSUE A WINTER
STORM WATCH FOR LATE TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING...BUT AM A LITTLE
LEERY OF THE TIMING OF THIS SYSTEM AND HAVE A FEELING...BASED ON
SATELLITE TRENDS THAT MODEL TIMING MAY BE A BIT SLOW.

IN THE EXTENDED ACTIVE PATTERN EASES ONLY BRIEFLY EARLY TUESDAY
WITH BRIEF WEAK RIDGE AHEAD OF NEXT GOOD PRECIP EVENT ON WEDNESDAY.

&&

.AVIATION...AREAS OF MVFR TO IFR CONDITIONS DEVELOP EARLY IN THE
WEST SIDE VALLEYS BEFORE BREAKING UP AS NEXT SYSTEM COMES INLAND
THIS MORNING. OTHERWISE MVFR TO VFR CONDITIONS PREVAIL.

WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS FLORENCE TO CA
      BORDER 0-60 NM.
     HIGH SURF ADVISORY SOUTH COAST ZONES 21-22 THROUGH MONDAY AFTN.
     FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR COOS...DOUGLAS...CURRY...
      JOSEPHINE...JACKSON...AND WESTERN SISKIYOU COUNTIES THROUGH
      SATURDAY MORNING.
     FLOOD WARNING FOR THE COQUILLE RIVER AT COQUILLE REMAINS IN
      EFFECT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT.
     FLOOD WARNING FOR THE SOUTH FORK OF THE COQUILLE RIVER AT
      MYRTLE POINT REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT.
     FLOOD WARNING FOR THE SOUTH UMPQUA RIVER AT ROSEBURG REMAINS IN
      EFFECT THROUGH TONIGHT.
     FLOOD WARNING FOR THE UMPQUA RIVER AT ELKTON REMAINS IN
      EFFECT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT.
     FLOOD WARNING FOR THE ROGUE RIVER AT GOLD RAY REMAINS IN
      EFFECT THROUGH TONIGHT.
     FLOOD WARNING FOR THE ROGUE RIVER AT GRANTS PASS IN EFFECT
      THROUGH SATURDAY.
     FLOOD WARNING FOR THE ROGUE RIVER FROM AGNESS TO GOLD BEACH
      REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT.
     FLOOD WARNING FOR THE SPRAGUE RIVER NEAR BEATTY REMAINS IN
      EFFECT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT.
     HIGH WIND WATCH...SOUTH COAST ZONES 21-22 LATE SATURDAY NIGHT
      THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON.
     SNOW ADVISORY THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING FOR OR ZONES 30.

CA...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS OR BORDER TO
      PT ST GEORGE CA 0-60 NM.
     FLOOD WARNING KLAMATH RIVER AT SEIAD VALLEY THROUGH SATURDAY
      NIGHT
     FLOOD WARNING NOW IN EFFECT FOR THE SCOTT RIVER NEAR
      FORT JONES THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT.
     SMALL STREAM FLOOD ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT FOR SISKIYOU
      MOUNTAINS AND THE KLAMATH BASIN.
     FLOOD WARNING FOR THE SCOTT RIVER NEAR FORT JONES REMAINS
      IN EFFECT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT
     FLOOD WARNING FOR THE KLAMATH RIVER AT SEIAD VALLEY REMAINS IN
      EFFECT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT.
     SNOW ADVISORY THIS MORNING AND TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY
      AFTERNOON FOR CA ZONES 81...82 AND 83.
     WINTER STORM WATCH THIS EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING ZONES
      80...82 AND 83.

&&

ALSO VISIT THE NWS ON THE WEB AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV/MEDFORD
SVEN

In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 30, 11:16 PM PST, 4 hours 44 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
1116 PM PST FRI DEC 30 2005

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0800 PM     HEAVY RAIN       5 NW MYRTLE CREEK       43.08N 123.34W
12/30/2005  1.00 INCH        DOUGLAS            OR   TRAINED SPOTTER

            PAST 12 HRS ENDING AT 8 PM.

0800 PM     HEAVY RAIN       1 N COOS BAY            43.37N 124.22W
12/30/2005  1.25 INCH        COOS               OR   TRAINED SPOTTER

            PAST 12 HRS ENDING AT 8 PM.

0800 PM     HEAVY RAIN       1 SE ASHLAND            42.18N 122.68W
12/30/2005  2.06 INCH        JACKSON            OR   TRAINED SPOTTER

            PAST 12 HRS ENDING AT 8 PM.

1000 PM     HEAVY RAIN       1 N ROSEBURG            43.23N 123.36W
12/30/2005  2.01 INCH        DOUGLAS            OR   TRAINED SPOTTER

            PAST 24 HRS ENDING AT 10 PM.

&&

GERIG

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, South Central Oregon Coast

When: December 31, 4:00 AM PST to 8:45 AM PST
Where: South Central Oregon Coast forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 45.467, -120.200

North Fork of the Coquille River at Myrtle Point.

What these are

Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Oregon in 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in Oregon, December 2005

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: 5482297.