High Surf, Curry County Coast
- When
- February 1, 3:40 PM PST
- Where
- Curry County Coast forecast zone
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- Newspaper
- Coordinates
- 42.467, -124.215 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Surf in Oregon, February 1, 2007
Two people were pulling crab pots onto a 15 foot boat off Sporthaven Beach near Brookings. The seas were calm, but suddenly a 12 foot wave arose from the sea.
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
- 1
- 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.
Two people were pulling crab pots onto a 15 foot boat off Sporthaven Beach near Brookings. The seas were calm, but suddenly a 12 foot wave arose from the sea. The boat skipper attempted to outrun the wave, but was swamped. He made it to the beach but his passenger did not.| The Coast Guard stated that a new shallow shoal has made this area susceptible to sudden large waves, especially at low tide.|Source: Medford Mail Tribune newspaper.
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 Feb 1, 2:10 PM PST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 1, 2:10 PM PST, 1 hour 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR 210 PM PST THU FEB 1 2007 .SHORT TERM...THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE IS FORECAST TO PERSIST OVER THE AREA TONIGHT INTO SATURDAY. THE MARINE STRATUS HAS RETREATED FROM THE COAST. TONIGHT EXPECT SOME LIGHT OFFSHORE FLOW TO KEEP THE COAST MAINLY CLEAR OF FOG WITH SOME MARINE FOG AND STRATUS POSSIBLE NEAR BROOKINGS. INLAND..EXPECT LITTLE CHANGE FRIDAY WITH THE RIDGE REMAINING IN PLACE AND A STRONG INVERSION CONTINUING. THE 12Z RUN OF THE GFS AND NAM SHOW UNCERTAINTY REGARDING THE STRENGTH OF AN APPROACHING WARM FRONT THAT IS FORECAST TO MOVE OVER THE RIDGE AND INTO OREGON AND WASHINGTON LATE SATURDAY. GFS IS THE STRONGER MODEL INDICATING A CHANCE FOR PRECIPITATION OVER THE CASCADES AND WESTWARD IN OREGON. THE NAM 12Z RUN KEEPS THE BEST CHANCE FOR PRECIPITATION TO OUR NORTH OVER NORTHERN OREGON AND WASHINGTON. HAVE KEPT SLIGHT CHANCE FOR PRECIPITATION IN FOR FORECAST FOR COOS AND DOUGLAS COUNTIES AND EXTENDING INTO THE CASCADES SATURDAY EVENING INTO EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. OTHERWISE EXPECT CLOUDS TO MOVE INTO THE AREA SATURDAY THROUGH EARLY SUNDAY AND ONSHORE MOIST FLOW IN THE LOWER LEVELS. THIS WILL ALLOW SOME DAYTIME HEATING TO REMAIN TRAPPED AND KEEP VALLEY LOW TEMPERATURES WARMER SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING. THEN...SUNDAY THE RIDGE STRENGTHENS OVER THE AREA WITH DRY CONDITIONS EXPECTED. .LONG TERM...GFS AND ECMWF ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT AGAIN TODAY WITH THE RIDGE PERSISTING INTO TUESDAY. THE ECMWF IS WEAKER WITH A TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT BREAKING DOWN THE RIDGE WEDNESDAY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN AND THEN A CHANCE OF POST FRONTAL SHOWERS THURSDAY. EXPECT THE TROUGH TO BRING A CHANGE IN THE PATTERN TOWARDS MIDWEEK WITH A CHANCE FOR PRECIPITATION...MAINLY FROM THE CASCADES WESTWARD. && .AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS WITH CONTINUING CLEAR SKIES THIS AFTERNOON. THEN VFR INLAND...EXCEPT PATCHY FOG WITH ISOLATED IFR/MVFR EXPECTED TO DEVELOP IN THE UMPQUA BASIN AND OVER THE EAST SIDE IN NORTHERN KLAMATH AND LAKE COUNTIES LATE TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY MORNING. ALONG THE COAST...EXPECT VFR WITH SOME MARINE STRATUS AND FOG DEVELOP AGAIN LATE TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING NEAR BROOKINGS. && .MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OR...NONE. CA...NONE. PACIFIC COASTAL WATERS...NONE. CC/MO
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Surf, Curry County Coast | 2007-02-01 | 57 | Male | Boating | Direct |
What these are
- High Surf
- Large waves breaking on the shore that caused damage, erosion or casualties.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Extreme Cold in Illinois, February 1 to 19, 2007
- Tornadoes and Coastal Flood in Florida, February 1 to 2, 2007
- Winter Weather in Arkansas, February 1 to 2, 2007
- Cold in Wisconsin, February 1, 2007
- Flood in Alaska, February 1 to 2, 2007
- Drought in Oklahoma, February 1 to 28, 2007
- Drought in Texas, February 1 to 28, 2007
- Winter Weather in Missouri, February 1, 2007
- Winter Weather in Texas, February 1 to 2, 2007
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Georgia, February 1, 2007
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in North Carolina, February 1, 2007
- Winter Weather in Tennessee, February 1 to 2, 2007
More
Every storm in Oregon in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, February 2007
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: 7797.