The Antelope wildfire was started by lightning on 08/21/12. It was contained by 08/28/12.
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.
The Antelope wildfire was started by lightning on 08/21/12. It was contained by 08/28/12.
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 Aug 21, 7:52 AM PST, 4 hours 55 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
852 AM PDT TUE AUG 21 2012
.DISCUSSION...STRATUS MADE IT THROUGH THE WESTERN UMPQUA AND A
LITTLE FORMED ALONG THE UMPQUA DIVIDE IN EASTERN DOUGLAS COUNTY
THIS MORNING, BUT ALL OF THIS WILL BURN BACK TO THE COAST AND
PROBABLY OFF SHORE BY AFTERNOON. OTHER THAN A FAIRLY CONTINUOUS
LAYER OF SMOKE ADVECTING FROM THE FIRES OVER NORCAL ACROSS THE
EAST SIDE, SKIES REMAIN MOSTLY CLEAR ELSEWHERE INLAND FROM THE
COAST. A WEAK UPPER TROUGH ALONG THE COAST THIS MORNING WILL SLIDE
THROUGH UNEVENTFULLY TODAY. THE MAIN EFFECT OF THIS TROUGH WILL BE
TO ENHANCE THE ONSHORE PUSH ACROSS THE WEST AND PRODUCE SOME GUSTY
WEST WINDS IN THE LEE OF THE CASCADES. THIS WILL MEAN A LITTLE
COOLER HIGH TEMPERATURES TODAY FOR MOST LOCALES, AND THE WINDS MAY
HAVE SOME IMPACT ON ONGOING FIRES ON THE EAST SIDE, BUT LITTLE
IMPACT OTHERWISE. DON'T ANTICIPATE MAKING ANY CHANGES FOR TODAY.
THE COASTAL STRATUS WILL PUSH BACK ONSHORE THIS EVENING AND
PROBABLY FURTHER INLAND TONIGHT - PERHAPS ALL THE WAY TO THE
UMPQUA DIVIDE AND POSSIBLY SPILLING OVER INTO THE ILLINOIS AND
APPLEGATE VALLEYS. DON'T SEE IT COMING INTO MEDFORD AT THIS TIME.
WILL ALSO BE LOOKING AT POSSIBLE FROSTY CONDITIONS ACROSS PORTIONS
OF THE EAST SIDE TONIGHT WITH A COOLER AIRMASS ARRIVING.
WE WILL BE IN ZONAL FLOW ALOFT THROUGH THE REST OF THE WEEK WITH
ANOTHER TROUGH MOVING BY MOSTLY NORTH OF US THURSDAY NIGHT INTO
FRIDAY. NO RAIN IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE WEEK, THUS THE MAIN
CHALLENGES WILL INVOLVE PREDICTING THE DEGREE OF MARINE PUSH AND
THE RESULTANT EFFECT ON TEMPERATURES. UP UNTIL THE 21/06Z RUN OF
THE GFS, ALL MODELS WERE CONSISTENT IN SHOWING A RATHER
SIGNIFICANT TROUGH MOVING IN LATE SAT AND EARLY SUNDAY. NOW THE
GFS SHOWS THIS TROUGH STAYING OFFSHORE THROUGH THE WEEKEND. THE
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THESE TWO SOLUTIONS ARE SUBSTANTIAL, SO IT
WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE IF THIS IS JUST A TEMPORARY DEVIATION
OF THE GFS OR THE FIRST GLIMPSE AT WHAT WOULD BE A MAJOR CHANGE IN
THE FORECAST TOWARD HOTTER WEATHER. -WRIGHT
&&
.AVIATION...ALONG THE COAST WIDESPREAD IFR IN LOW CLOUDS AND FOG
IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH EARLY THIS MORNING...WITH CIGS
LIFTING TO MVFR DURING THE MID TO LATE MORNING...THEN CLEARING TO
VFR BY EARLY AFTERNOON. CLEARING WILL BE BRIEF THOUGH...AND EXCEPT
MVFR CIGS TO REDEVELOP ALONG THE COAST EARLY THIS EVENING.
INLAND...AREAS OF IFR/MFR LOW CLOUDS ARE DEVELOPING THIS MORNING
IN THE UMPQUA BASIN EAST OF ROSEBURG. THESE CLOUDS MAY FILL IN TO
RBG. THEN EXPECT LOW CLOUDS IN THE UMPQUA TO CLEAR IN THE LATE
MORNING. ELSEWHERE EXPECT VFR THROUGH TODAY AND THIS EVENING.
GUSTY NORTH WINDS ARE EXPECTED AGAIN AT KOTH TUESDAY AFTERNOON
WITH GUSTS NEAR 25 KT POSSIBLE IN THE AFTERNOON. GUSTY WINDS MAY
ALSO DEVELOP OVER AREAS EAST OF THE CASCADES...INCLUDING AT
KLMT...LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING.
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 200 AM PDT TUE AUG 21 2012/
DISCUSSION...MORE SEASONAL TEMPERATURES CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEK
AS COOLER AIR MASS IS OVER THE REGION WITH 500 MB WINDS FROM THE
WEST. UPPER LEVEL TROUGH MOVES THROUGH THE REGION TODAY. WINDS ARE
INCREASED AHEAD OF THE UPPER TROUGH PATTERN...BUT 700 MB WINDS ARE
STILL ONLY INDICATED IN THE 15 TO 20 KT RANGE AND DO NOT EXPECT
CONDITIONS TO REACH RED FLAG WARNING ON THE EAST SIDE. WEAK
RIDGE/ZONAL FLOW PATTERN SETS UP BY WEDNESDAY MORNING WITH THERMAL
TROUGH DEEPENING ON THE EXTREME SOUTHERN COAST. WITH THE COOLER
AIR MASS TEMPERATURES MAY DROP LOW ENOUGH IN THE NORTHERN EAST
SIDE BY TOMORROW MORNING TO POSSIBLY NEAR FROST CONDITIONS.
HOWEVER...WITH WARM SOIL TEMPERATURES THE BALANCE BETWEEN COOL AIR
AND GROUND HEAT HOLDING MAY KEEP FROST FROM FORMING. THE THERMAL TROUGH
DEEPENS WITH OFFSHORE FLOW INCREASING TUESDAY WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND
WITH WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS ON THE RIDGES WILL HAVE TO KEEP AN
EYE OF POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT OFFSHORE FIRE CONCERNS ON THE SOUTHERN
COASTAL RANGES RIDGE TOPS.
&&
.MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...NONE.
CA...NONE.
PZ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR WINDS UNTIL 2 AM PDT SATURDAY FOR
PZZ356.
HAZARDOUS SEAS WATCH FROM WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH FRIDAY
EVENING FOR PZZ356.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS UNTIL 2 PM PDT WEDNESDAY
FOR PZZ356.
GALE WATCH FROM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH LATE FRIDAY NIGHT FOR
PZZ376.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR WINDS UNTIL 11 AM PDT WEDNESDAY FOR
PZZ376.
HAZARDOUS SEAS WATCH FROM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH LATE FRIDAY
NIGHT FOR PZZ376.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS UNTIL 11 AM PDT
WEDNESDAY FOR PZZ376.The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Antelope wildfire was started by lightning on 08/21/12. It was contained by 08/28/12. It burned 650 acres and $715000 was spent on wildfire fighting efforts.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in California, August 2012
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: 400979.