The year 2005 began with a Winter Storm Warning in effect over Northern California. In the new year, a Winter Storm Warning was issued for Oregon zones ORZ022/024/025 above 1000 feet at 01/1428 PST, as well as the Siskiyous portion of ORZ028.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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.
The year 2005 began with a Winter Storm Warning in effect over Northern California. In the new year, a Winter Storm Warning was issued for Oregon zones ORZ022/024/025 above 1000 feet at 01/1428 PST, as well as the Siskiyous portion of ORZ028. The warning was effective until 02/1000 PST. It was cancelled at 02/0930 PST.
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 1, 3:00 AM PST, 6 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
300 AM PST SAT JAN 1 2005
.DISCUSSION...WATER VAPOR SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS THE NEXT SYSTEM
MOVING SOUTH ALONG 130W. ALL MODELS IN VERY GOOD AGREEMENT AND
TRACKING THIS SYSTEM QUITE WELL. UPPER LEVEL LOW IS BEGINNING TO
MAKE AN EASTWARD TURN AND SHOULD MOVE ONSHORE NEAR NEWPORT THIS
AFTERNOON. COLD FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH
THE CWA BETWEEN 10 AM AND 2 PM. MODELS DEPICT GOOD OMEGA FIELDS. 30
TO 40 KT WSW WINDS AT 700 MB WILL SUPPORT DECENT OROGRAPHIC LIFT. 70
TO 80 KT 300 MB JET ALSO DEPICTED BY MODELS. ALL THESE PARAMETERS
ARE CONSISTENT WITH MODEL RUNS 24 HRS AGO SO FEEL CONFIDENT THAT ALL
AREAS FROM THE COAST TO THE CASCADES WILL GET MEASURABLE
PRECIPITATION. MOST AREAS EAST OF CASCADES SHOULD GET PCPN ALSO.
QPF AMOUNTS ARE A BIT LOW FOR COPIOUS AMOUNTS SO CURRENT WINTER
STORM WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES LOOK REASONABLE. WILL NOT MAKE CHANGES
TO THEM OTHER THAN FRESHENING THEM UP. THIS SYSTEM WILL BE BRINGING
ANOTHER SHOT OF COLD AIR SO ALSO FEEL CURRENT SNOW LEVEL FORECAST
IS REASONABLE PARTICULARLY BRINGING SNOW TO ROGUE VALLEY FLOOR
SUNDAY MORNING.
UPPER LOW WEAKENS SUNDAY AS POSITIVE TILT TROF DEEPENS TO THE SW.
WITH LOW STILL OVER OREGON...MUST KEEP MENTION OF SHOWERS IN THE
AREA.
NE FLOW REMAINS ON MONDAY HELPING TO BRING COLD CANADIAN AIR INTO
OREGON. AS TODAYS LOW MOVES INTO THE GREAT BASIN TUESDAY...ANOTHER
SHOT OF REINFORCING COLD AIRMASS DEVELOPS INTO A COLD UPPER LEVEL
LOW. TUESDAY LOOKS TO BE THE COLDEST DAY OF THE WEEK. COULD SEE LOTS
OF SINGLE DIGIT LOW TEMPS EAST OF THE CASCADES TUESDAY MORNING.
OREGON VALLEYS WEST OF THE CASCADES COULD EASILY SEE LOW TO MID 20S.
SOME MODERATION OF THE AIRMASS OCCURS WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AS A
SHORTWAVE RIDGE NUDGES IN AHEAD OF THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM PROGGED
FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. EXTENDED MODELS SHOWS THIS SYSTEM TO BE
EVERY BIT AS COLD AS TODAYS SYSTEM SINCE IT IS PROGGED TO DROP
SOUTH ALONG THE CANADIAN COAST.
SARGE
&&
.MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY...FLORENCE OR TO OR/CA BORDER
0-60 NM THROUGH SUNDAY.
SNOW ADVISORY..........ORZ028 UNTIL 6 AM SAT.
SNOW ADVISORY..........ORZ021>026 10 AM TO 4 PM SAT ABOVE
2000 FEET.
CA...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY...OR/CA BORDER TO PT ST GEORGE CA
0-60 NM THROUGH SUNDAY.
WINTER STORM WARNING...CAZ080/082/083 THROUGH 12 AM SUNDAY.
&&
ALSO VISIT THE NWS ON THE WEB AT WEATHER.GOV/MEDFORDPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
732 AM PST SAT JAN 01 2005
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0712 AM HEAVY RAIN 4 NE GOLD BEACH 42.45N 124.37W
01/01/2005 1.38 INCH CURRY OR TRAINED SPOTTER
24 HOUR RAINFALL ENDING AT 7 AM.
&&
ORRThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
A spotter 2NNE Selma reported 7 inches of snow in 24 hours.
A spotter 1SSW OBrien reported 7 inches of snow in 20 hours.
A spotter N of Butte Falls at 2550 feet reported 4 inches of snow in the past 4 hours.
The highway department reported 6 inches of snow in 6 hours 10 miles north of Cave Junction with 4 inches still on the ground.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, January 2005
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: 5433982, 5433981, 5433979, 5433980.