Flash Flood in Oregon, June 7 to 8, 2006

Name: Flash Flood in Oregon, June 7 to 8, 2006
Start: 2006-06-07T14:00
End: 2006-06-08T14:00
Location: Oregon

June 7 to 8, 2006 · NWS MFR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A dike on Upper Klamath Lake failed on the afternoon of 06/07/06. It inundated some Caledonia Marsh agricultural fields, State Highway 140, and 3 holes on the Running Y Golf Resort.

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

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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 dike on Upper Klamath Lake failed on the afternoon of 06/07/06. It inundated some Caledonia Marsh agricultural fields, State Highway 140, and 3 holes on the Running Y Golf Resort. The NWS was not notified of this event through official channels, the former MIC called and passed along the information. Once the office was notified and the event verified, a Flash Flood Warning was issued for South Central Klamath County at 07/2147 PDT, effective until 08/0345 PDT. It was extended until 08/1000 PDT at 08/0415 PDT. It was cancelled at 08/0858 PDT. A second dike was threatening to fail, so a Flash Flood Watch was issued at 08/0851 PDT. It was cancelled at 08/1359 PDT when it was determined that no structures were in the threatening area. No permanent structures were affected and there were no deaths or injuries, but several agricultural structures and equipment were inundated, and Highway 140 was partially undermined, forcing its closure. A second dike showed signs of weakening, but that dike was reinforced and held. Had it failed, more agricultural land would have flooded. Highway 140 was opened to 1 lane of travel after the waters subsided; it will take a number of months to effect repairs.

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 Jun 7, 1:10 PM PST, 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 7, 1:10 PM PST, 50 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
210 PM PDT WED JUN 7 2006

.DISCUSSION...SHORT TERM FOCUS IS ON THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL LATE
THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. LATEST SATELLITE WATER VAPOR IMAGES SHOW
THE MAIN SHORT WAVE ROUNDING THE BASE OF THE TROUGH INSIDE 130W WITH
DARKENING APPEARING JUST AHEAD OF THE SHORT WAVE. THE TROUGH IS
SHARPENING WITH A SLIGHT NEGATIVE TILT DEVELOPING. THE SHORT WAVE
ROUNDING THE BASE OF THE TROUGH EJECTS TO THE NORTHEAST AND THE LIFT
ASSOCIATED WITH IT DOES NOT COINCIDE WITH PEAK HEATING ON THE EAST
SIDE...IT IS LATER. ALSO THE GREATEST LIFT IS OVER THE CENTRAL
CASCADES...NORTH OF OUR AREA TONIGHT. END RESULT WILL BE A SLIGHT
CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE CASCADES EAST...MAINLY ACROSS
KLAMATH AND LAKE COUNTIES THIS EVENING.

WILL KEEP A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS FOR LATE TONIGHT AND THURSDAY
MORNING FOR THE CASCADES EAST AS ANOTHER SHORT WAVE TROUGH MOVES
QUICKLY DOWN FROM THE NORTHWEST. IT WILL PROBABLY BE TOO DRY AND
STABLE LATE TONIGHT FOR SHOWERS OTHER THAN SOME LIGHT PRECIPITATION
NEAR THE COAST THURSDAY MORNING IN THE DEEPER MARINE LAYER.

A STABLE WESTERLY FLOW WILL DEVELOP THURSDAY FOR DRY CONDITIONS AND
A NARROW UPPER RIDGE APPROACHES FRIDAY TO ENSURE A DRY PATTERN. THE
FORECAST GETS MORE MURKY THIS WEEKEND AS A CLOSED UPPER LOW DROPS
SOUTH AND INSIDE 130W. THE TRACK AND TIMING OF THIS LOW IS UNCERTAIN
SO THE CONFIDENCE IN THE WEEKEND FORECAST IS LOW. AT THIS POINT WILL
KEEP SATURDAY DRY AS THE RIDGE FLATTENS OUT OVER US BUT WOULD EXPECT
HIGH CLOUDS TO INCREASE. IF THE LOW IS OFF THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
COAST SUNDAY THEN THIS WOULD SET UP OUR FAVORED PATTERN FOR
THUNDERSTORMS WITH GOOD UPPER DIFLUENCE ACROSS OUR FORECAST
AREA...INCLUDING THE WESTERN VALLEYS. THE BIG QUESTION IS
WHETHER THIS CUT-OFF LOW WILL REMAIN OFFSHORE IN SPLIT FLOW OR MOVE
INLAND ACROSS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. THE MOST LIKELY SCENARIO BASED ON
THE PAST IS THAT THE UPPER LOW WILL REMAIN OFFSHORE FOR A WHILE AND
COULD KEEP OUR AREA IN A THUNDERSTORM PATTERN FOR 2-3 DAYS EARLY
NEXT WEEK.

&&

.AVIATION...MVFR CONDITIONS NEAR THE COAST WILL BECOME MORE
WIDESPREAD FARTHER INLAND AS THE MARINE LAYER EXPANDS INLAND
TONIGHT. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS FROM THE CASCADES EASTWARD THIS
EVENING WITH SPOTTY SHOWERS LATER TONIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING.

&&

.MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR WINDS...CAPE BLANCO OR TO OR/CA
                                      BORDER 0-60NM.
CA...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR WINDS...OR/CA BORDER TO PT ST GEORGE CA
                                      0-60NM.

&&

SANDLER

The radar

The Medford radar (KMAX), 110 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:00 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Klamath

When: June 7, 2:00 PM PST to June 8, 2:00 PM PST
Where: Klamath County, South Central Portion
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.686, -121.650 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

See below.

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

Every storm in Oregon in 2006 Every state in 2006 This day in weather history Warnings in Oregon, June 2006

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: 5521083.