Name: High Surf in Oregon, February 14, 2010
Start: 2010-02-14T02:00
End: 2010-02-14T12:00
Location: Oregon

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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: 2

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.

Significant long period westerly swell entered the marine zones which created high surf (large breaker waves) along the coast.

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 13, 8:00 PM PST, 6 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 13, 8:00 PM PST, 6 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
800 PM PST SAT FEB 13 2010

.DISCUSSION...14/00Z NAM IN. 14/00Z GFS IN THROUGH 60HR.

THE CURRENT LARGE SCALE WEATHER PATTERN IS FAIRLY TYPICAL FOR THIS
TIME OF YEAR WITH A LONG WAVE RIDGE INLAND AND THE LONG WAVE
TROUGH OFFSHORE BETWEEN 140W AND 150W. SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL
PERSIST OVER THE AREA THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND THE VARIABILITY WILL
BE PROVIDED BY SHORT WAVES EJECTING FROM THE TROUGH AND MOVING
ONSHORE.

THE NEXT SHORT WAVE WILL IS NOW ABOUT TO MOVE ONSHORE WITH THE
ENERGY FOCUSED WELL NORTH OF THE FORECAST AREA. THE ASSOCIATED
SURFACE FRONT WILL MOVE ONSHORE LATE TONIGHT AND MOST OF THE
ASSOCIATED PRECIPITATION WILL FALL ALONG THE COAST AND COAST
RANGE. AFTER THAT WEAKER SHORT WAVES WILL PARADE THROUGH. SNOW
LEVELS WILL REMAIN IN THE 4500 TO 5500 FOOT RANGE THROUGH ALL
THESE EVENTS. MEANWHILE...ALONG THE COAST...HEAVY WESTERLY SWELL
WILL MAKE FOR HIGH SURF THROUGH THE WEEKEND.

THE PATTERN WILL CHANGE TUESDAY AS THE FILLING LONG WAVE TROUGH
FINALLY MOVES ONSHORE AND ANOTHER LONG WAVE TROUGH FORMS FARTHER
WEST BETWEEN 150W AND 160W. THE FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH THE FILLING
TROUGH WILL MOVE ONSHORE TUESDAY MORNING. THERE IS A LOT OF
THICKNESS PACKING WITH THIS ONE BUT THE COLDEST AIR WILL SLIDE BY
TO THE NORTH OF THE MEDFORD CWA. PRECIPITATION WILL END TUESDAY
EVENING AND OFFSHORE LOW LEVEL FLOW WILL DEVELOP TUESDAY NIGHT.

THE LANDFALLING TROUGH WILL MOVE TO THE INTERMOUNTAIN STATES WHERE
IT WILL DIG AND FORM THE EASTERN ANCHOR FOR AN OMEGA BLOCK ON
WEDNESDAY WHILE THE TROUGH OUT AROUND 150W FORMS THE WESTERN
ANCHOR. HOWEVER...UNLIKE THE PREVIOUS RUNS...THE OMEGA BLOCK ON
THE 13/18Z GFS RUN TRANSITIONS TO REX BLOCK FRIDAY. THE 12/18Z RUN
MAINTAINED THE OMEGA BLOCK LONGER. THE ECMWF HAS BEEN CONSISTENT
WITH MAINTAINING THE OMEGA BLOCK THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND AND THIS IS
THE PREFERRED SOLUTION.

EVENTUALLY THE WESTERN ANCHOR LOW WILL UNDERCUT THE RIDGE...BUT IT
NOW LOOKS LIKE THAT WILL OCCUR AFTER NEXT WEEKEND. EXPECT DRY AND
WARMER WEATHER WEDNESDAY THROUGH THE REST OF NEXT WEEK.

&&

.AVIATION...MOST TERMINALS ARE REPORTING VFR CONDITIONS NOW BUT
WILL DIMINISH TO MVFR AT COASTAL LOCATIONS AND JUST INLAND BY LATE
TONIGHT. OTHER INLAND LOCATIONS LIKE KMFR AND KLMT SHOULD STAY VFR
UNTIL SUNDAY AFTERNOON WHEN ENOUGH MOISTURE COULD DROP CEILINGS TO
MVFR. MOUNTAIN OBSCURATION ALONG AND WEST OF THE CASCADES LATE
TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY.

&&

.MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...HIGH SURF ADVISORY UNTIL 10 PM PST SUNDAY FOR ORZ021-022.

CA...NONE.

PACIFIC COASTAL WATERS...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR WINDS UNTIL
        4 AM PST SUNDAY FOR PZZ350-356.
     HAZARDOUS SEAS WARNING UNTIL 10 PM PST SUNDAY FOR
        PZZ350-356-370-376.
     GALE WARNING UNTIL 10 PM PST THIS EVENING FOR
        PZZ370-376.

15/15/15

Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 13, 7:49 AM PST, 18 hours 11 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
749 AM PST SAT FEB 13 2010

ORZ021-022-141500-
SOUTH CENTRAL OREGON COAST-CURRY COUNTY COAST-
749 AM PST SAT FEB 13 2010

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST
OREGON.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A HIGH SURF ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT THROUGH MIDNIGHT...SEE MARINE
PRODUCT FOR DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

A HIGH SURF ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT THROUGH 10PM SUNDAY...SEE MARINE
PRODUCT FOR DETAILS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.

High Surf, South Central Oregon Coast

When: February 14, 2:00 AM PST to 12:00 PM PST
Where: South Central Oregon Coast forecast zone
Reported by: Buoy
Coordinates: 42.979, -123.829 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Buoy 46015 (16 nautical miles west of Port Orford) reported significant westerly swell heights of 18.0 to 23.6 feet between 14/0200 PST and 14/1200 PST. The peak swell height of 23.6 feet occurred at 14/0800 PST. This swell had a swell period of 16.0 to 19.0 seconds during the same 14/0200 PST to 14/1200 PST time period. The longest period swell of 19.0 seconds occurred at 14/0200 PST. This swell extrapolates to 30 to 35 feet breakers at the coast.

High Surf, Curry County Coast

When: February 14, 2:00 AM PST to 12:00 PM PST
Where: Curry County Coast forecast zone
Reported by: Buoy
Coordinates: 42.467, -124.215 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Buoy 46015 (16 nautical miles west of Port Orford) reported significant westerly swell heights of 18.0 to 23.6 feet between 14/0200 PST and 14/1200 PST. The peak swell height of 23.6 feet occurred at 14/0800 PST. This swell had a swell period of 16.0 to 19.0 seconds during the same 14/0200 PST to 14/1200 PST time period. The longest period swell of 19.0 seconds occurred at 14/0200 PST. This swell extrapolates to 30 to 35 feet breakers at the coast.

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

More

Every storm in Oregon in 2010 Every state in 2010 This day in weather history Warnings in Oregon, February 2010

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: 206383, 206384.