A sneaker wave swept two people, a boy and his uncle, into the ocean near Simpson Beach, south of Coos Bay. The people were standing on rocks near the water when a knee high wave broke into them.
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.
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 sneaker wave swept two people, a boy and his uncle, into the ocean near Simpson Beach, south of Coos Bay. The people were standing on rocks near the water when a knee high wave broke into them. The six year old boy was pulled from the water, but died en route to the hospital. As of 10/29/08, the 39 year old uncle was still missing.
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 Oct 25, 1:48 PM PST, 42 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
248 PM PDT SAT OCT 25 2008
.DISCUSSION...AN UNSEASONABLY STRONG RIDGE BUILDING INTO THE
FORECAST AREA WILL LEAD TO A VERY WARM SUNDAY...ESPECIALLY FOR THE
ROGUE VALLEY WHERE A FAVORABLE SOUTHEASTERLY MIXING WIND AROUND 10
TO 15 MPH AND TEMPERATURE AT 850HPA AROUND 20C ARE EXPECTED. THE
RIDGE WEAKENS AND SHIFTS SLIGHT EAST ON MONDAY WHILE THE THERMAL
AT THE COAST WEAKENS. TEMPERATURES WILL BEGIN A GRADUAL COOLING
DOWN THIS WEEK WITH INCREASING LOW CLOUDS INTO THE COASTAL AREAS.
THE PATTERN CHANGES TOWARD A COOLER AND MORE MOIST PATTERN IN THE
SECOND HALF OF THE WEEK AS THE SYNOPTIC PATTERN SHIFTS TO A TROUGH
OFFSHORE AND SOUTHWEST WINDS INTO THE PAC NW. THE FIRST SHORT WAVE
TROUGH IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INLAND ACROSS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
AROUND WEDNESDAY AND MAY GENERATE A FEW SHOWERS OVER THE
MOUNTAINS. THIS WILL BE THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF FRONTS MOVING
INLAND. BOTH THE GFS AND THE ECMWF INDICATE A STRONGER FRONT WITH
GOOD POTENTIAL FOR RAIN NEXT WEEKEND. SUBSEQUENT SHIFTS MAY HAVE
TO INCREASE POPS IN THE EXTENDED IF LATER MODEL RUNS CONTINUE
WITH THIS TREND.
&&
.AVIATION...EXPECT VFR CONDITIONS ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA...EVEN
AT THE COAST...DUE TO LARGE SCALE SUBSIDENCE AND OFFSHORE WINDS.
HOWEVER CONDITIONS COULD CHANGE SUNDAY NIGHT AS THE THERMAL TROUGH
ALONG THE COAST SHIFTS NORTH ALLOWING LOW CLOUDS AND FOG TO
DEVELOP IN THE COASTAL AREA.
&&
.MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...NONE.
CA...NONE.
PACIFIC COASTAL WATERS...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR WINDS UNTIL 5 AM
PDT SUNDAY FOR PZZ350-PZZ356-PZZ370-PZZ376.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS UNTIL 5 PM PDT SUNDAY
FOR PZZ350-PZZ356-PZZ370-PZZ376.
08/99/99The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.
A boy and his uncle were swept into the water by a rogue wave. No warning or advisories were in effect at the time. Buoy 229 offshore reported west to northwest swell with heights of 3.2 to 3.7 meters and a period of 15 to 17 seconds.
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, South Central Oregon Coast | 2008-10-25 | 6 | Male | In Water | Direct |
| High Surf, South Central Oregon Coast | 2008-10-25 | 39 | Male | In Water | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, October 2008
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: 133629.