Persistent heavy precipitation caused flooding on several rivers and creeks during this interval.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
Persistent heavy precipitation caused flooding on several rivers and creeks during this interval.
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 Dec 1, 8:02 PM PST, 7 hours 28 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
802 PM PST SAT DEC 1 2012
.DISCUSSION...02/00Z NAM IN. 02/00Z GFS IN THROUGH 78HR.
A LONG WAVE TROUGH REMAINS OFFSHORE. THIS TROUGH HAS BEEN EJECTING
SHORT WAVES OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST FOR THE PAST SEVERAL
DAYS...AND THE STRONGEST SHORT WAVE OF THEM ALL WILL MOVE ONSHORE
LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. THIS WILL BRING ANOTHER
ROUND OF HEAVY PRECIPITATION TO THE AREA. RAINFALL RATES WILL
PEAK IN THE 10 PM TO 6 AM PST TIME FRAME. SNOW LEVELS CURRENTLY
NEAR 6500 FEET WILL CLIMB TO 7000 TO 8000 FEET AT MOST LOCATIONS
OVERNIGHT. NUMEROUS AREAL FLOOD WATCHES...FLOOD WATCHES FOR THE
COQUILLE AND ROGUE RIVERS...AND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES HAVE
BEEN ISSUED. ADDITIONALLY...THE COQUILLE RIVER AT COQUILLE IS
UNDER A FLOOD WARNING. A WARNING FOR THE SOUTH FORK OF THE
COQUILLE AT MYRTLE POINT HAS JUST BEEN ISSUED.
THE MAIN CONCERN WITH THIS SYSTEM IS THAT THERE WILL BE A
RELATIVELY SHORT BURST...6 TO 12 HOURS...OF HEAVY PRECIPITATION
FALLING ON ALREADY SATURATED GROUND...ALMOST ALL OF IT IN LIQUID
FORM. SINCE MOST OF THE PRECIPITATION WILL RUN OFF INTO STREAMS
QUICKLY...THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR FLASH FLOODING ON THE SMALLER
STREAMS AS WELL AS SOME URBAN FLOODING FROM THE CASCADES WEST AND
AROUND THE MOUNT SHASTA AREA.
PRECIPITATION WILL ABATE QUICKLY SUNDAY MORNING AS THE RAIN
CHANGES TO POST-FRONTAL SHOWERS. SNOW LEVELS WILL LOWER TO 3500
TO 4000 FEET.
LONG TERM DISCUSSION FROM THE SATURDAY AFTERNOON AFD WITH SOME
EDITING...SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY. SHOWERS WILL BE QUITE A BIT
LIGHTER SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON AS WEAK SHORT WAVES
EMBEDDED IN SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT MOVE THROUGH THE AREA. MOST OF
THE PRECIPITATION DURING THIS TIME WILL BE WEST OF THE CASCADES
WITH MOST OF IT FOCUSED ALONG THE COAST...BUT AMOUNTS WILL BE
MOSTLY LIGHT TO MODERATE. THE NEXT SIGNIFICANT EVENT WILL BE MONDAY
NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY. THE EC AND GFS ARE IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT
SHOWING ANOTHER STRONG STORM REACHING THE OREGON COAST. THE EC
SHOWS A DEEPER LOW DEVELOPING JUST OUTSIDE OF 130 W AND 40 N AND
TRACKING NORTHEAST TOWARDS VANCOUVER ISLAND. THE GFS IS NOT AS
STRONG WITH THE SURFACE LOW BUT THE TRACK IS SIMILAR. THE CONCERN
WITH THIS STORM IS THAT IT WILL HAVE A TROPICAL CONNECTION AND
THIS IS BEING SUPPORTED BY THE FORECAST WATER VAPOR TRANSPORT.
THIS MEANS WE COULD GET ANOTHER ROUND OF HEAVY PRECIPITATION IN
COOS... CURRY...JOSEPHINE AND WESTERN SISKIYOU COUNTIES WHICH MAY
RESULT IN ADDITIONAL FLOODING AND POSSIBLE DEBRIS FLOWS/MUDSLIDES
IN THE COASTAL MOUNTAINS. THERE WILL ALSO BE MODERATE TO STRONG
WINDS ALONG THE COAST AND POSSIBLY EAST OF THE CASCADES.
THINGS FINALLY START TO IMPROVE WEDNESDAY WITH THE FRONT MOVING
SOUTHEAST AND WEAKENING...RESULTING IN DECREASING PRECIPITATION.
WEAKER SYSTEMS WILL SLIDE THROUGH THE NORTHERN PART OF THE
FORECAST AREA THE REST OF NEXT WEEK...BUT THIS TIME PRECIPITATION
AMOUNTS WILL BE LIGHTER AND NO SIGNIFICANT WINDS ARE EXPECTED.
-PETRUCELLI
&&
.AVIATION...WIDESPREAD MVFR/IFR WITH LOCAL LIFR EXPECTED OVERNIGHT
WEST OF THE CASCADES AS A STRONG FRONTAL SYSTEM MOVES IN. THIS
SYSTEM WILL BRING SEVERAL HOURS OF RA/+RA OVERNIGHT INTO SUNDAY
MORNING. FREEZING LEVELS AROUND 7000-8000 FEET EARLY TONIGHT WILL
DROP QUICKLY TO 4500-5000 FEET BY SUNDAY MORNING. LIGHT TO
MODERATE TURBULENCE CAN BE EXPECTED TOO AS WINDS ALOFT WILL BE
STRONG. VFR THIS EVENING EAST OF THE CASCADES WILL BECOME
MVFR/LOCAL IFR AS THE FRONT MOVES IN. EXPECT SEVERAL HOURS OF
-RA/RA TO ACCOMPANY THE FRONT THERE AS WELL. TERRAIN WILL BE
COMPLETELY OBSCURED TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY. SPILDE
&&
.MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 10 AM PST SUNDAY FOR ORZ029>031.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 4 AM TO 10 AM PST SUNDAY ABOVE 4500
FEET FOR ORZ030.
HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 10 AM PST SUNDAY FOR ORZ027-028.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 4 AM TO 10 AM PST SUNDAY ABOVE 4500
FEET FOR ORZ027-028.
HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 4 AM PST SUNDAY FOR ORZ021-022.
FLOOD WATCH THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING FOR ORZ021-022-024.
FLOOD WATCH FROM 10 PM PST THIS EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING
FOR ORZ023-025-026.
CA...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 10 AM PST SUNDAY FOR CAZ084-085.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 4 AM TO 10 AM PST SUNDAY ABOVE 4500
FEET FOR CAZ080.
FLOOD WATCH THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING FOR CAZ080.
FLOOD WATCH FROM 10 PM PST THIS EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING
FOR CAZ081>083.
HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 4 AM PST SUNDAY FOR CAZ081.
PZ...GALE WARNING UNTIL 4 AM PST SUNDAY FOR PZZ350-356-370-376.
HAZARDOUS SEAS WARNING UNTIL 4 AM PST SUNDAY FOR
PZZ350-356-370-376.
15/15/15PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
1007 PM PST SAT DEC 01 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1006 PM HEAVY RAIN 6 SW MERLIN 42.46N 123.49W
12/01/2012 M1.00 INCH JOSEPHINE OR TRAINED SPOTTER
SINCE 5AM THIS MORNING.
&&
STOCKTONPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
1255 AM PST SUN DEC 02 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1255 AM HEAVY RAIN 1 NNE LANGLOIS 42.94N 124.44W
12/02/2012 M2.69 INCH CURRY OR TRAINED SPOTTER
12 HOUR ACCUMULATION
&&
BUNKERThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Deer Creek at Roseburg exceeded flood stage during this interval. It crested at 108.36 feet at 02/0630 PST. Upriver near Tokatee, Oregon 138E was partially closed by a landslide.
The Coquille River at Coquille exceeded flood stage during this interval. It reached moderate flood stage between 02/1730 and 04/0145 PST. It crested at 23.60 feet several times between 03/2245 and 03/0100 PST. Oregon Highway 241 near Coos Bay was briefly closed by a landslide along with downed trees and powerlines.
Numerous spotter reports of 24 hour rainfall totals exceeding an inch were received. The heaviest reported amount was 3.10 inches from a spotter 3SSE Ashland. There were a number of reports of urban flooding in the area.
The Rogue River at Gold Ray exceeded flood stage during this interval. It crested at 12.23 feet at 02/1245 PST.
The South Fork of the Coquille River at Myrtle Point exceeded flood stage during this interval. It crested at 33.83 feet at 02/1800 PST. A 180 foot section of Oregon Highway 542 collapsed next to the river.
The Rogue River at Agness exceeded flood stage during this interval. It crested at 19.10 feet at 03/0000 PST.
The Rogue River at Agness exceeded flood stage during this interval. It crested at 17.52 feet at 05/1700 PST.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, December 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: 422561, 422551, 422599, 422571, 422554, 422563, 422598.