A cold air mass in place over the area made for cold low temperatures this night.
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 cold air mass in place over the area made for cold low temperatures this night.
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 May 19, 2:34 AM PST, 26 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR 334 AM PDT SAT MAY 19 2012 .SHORT TERM...WARM TEMPERATURES ARE IN STORE FOR OUR FORECAST AREA THIS WEEKEND AS RIDGING ALOFT BUILDS ACROSS SOUTHERN OREGON. EXPECT TODAYS HIGHS INLAND TO BE 3 TO 5 DEGREES WARMER THAN YESTERDAY. ANOTHER 5 TO 10 DEGREES MORE WARMING CAN BE EXPECTED ON SUNDAY WITH MID 80S IN THE ROGUE VALLEY. THIS AFTERNOON A SHORT WAVE TROUGH WILL MOVE INLAND AND BRING MID TO HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS TO THE AREA. PARTLY CLOUDY TO MOSTLY CLOUDY SKY WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT AND SUNDAY AS THE RIDGE AXIS SHIFTS EAST ALLOWING MORE CLOUDS TO SPREAD INTO THE AREA. GUIDANCE SHOWS THE AIR MASS IS SLIGHTLY UNSTABLE FROM THE MARBLE MOUNTAINS NE ACROSS THE CRATER LAKE AREA. A LOW PRESSURE IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INSIDE 130W MONDAY. THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH IS SUPPORTED BY A 100KT JET AND WILL HELP TO DRIVE THE SURFACE COLD FRONT INLAND BY MONDAY AFTERNOON. AHEAD OF THIS FRONT SOUTHERLY WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN THE COASTAL WATERS WHILE FURTHER INLAND GUSTY WEST WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED ACROSS NORTHEAST CALIFORNIA AND EASTERN OREGON. LEANING TOWARD THE NAM ON TIMING PER DISCUSSION FROM HPC. TEMPERATURES ON MONDAY ARE EXPECTED TO FALL BACK TOWARD SEASONAL NORMS OR SLIGHTLY BELOW WHICH FOR MEDFORD IS THE LOWER 70S. THE AIR MASS ON THE EASTERN BORDER OF THE FORECAST AREA IN LAKE AND MODOC COUNTIES WILL BE SLIGHTLY UNSTABLE MONDAY AFTERNOON BEFORE THE COLD FRONT PUSHES THROUGH. /FB .LONG TERM...BOTH THE GFS AND THE ECMWF ARE REMARKABLY SIMILAR ON THE COOLING TREND NEXT WEEK. THE FOLLOWING LONG TERM DISCUSSION FROM FRIDAY IS STILL PERTINENT. A PERSISTENT COOL AND POSSIBLY UNSETTLED PERIOD OF WEATHER WILL OCCUR NEXT WEEK. A LOW FROM THE GULF OF ALASKA WILL GRADUALLY PUSH EAST AND SOUTH...LOWERING HEIGHTS AND TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE WEEK. COLD POOLS ALOFT WILL TRANSIT THE REGION...FOSTERING A GOOD ENVIRONMENT FOR SHOWERS...AND HAVE INCREASED POPS DURING THE WEEK. GIVEN INCREASED MODEL AND ENSEMBLE MEMBER AGREEMENT NEXT WEEK...THIS NOW LOOKS LIKE THE FIRST WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION EVENT IN THE PAST COUPLE WEEKS AT LEAST. && .AVIATION...CONDITIONS ARE VFR EXCEPT IFR CEILINGS IN THE COQUILLE VALLEY AND LOCALLY ALONG THE COAST NORTH OF CAPE BLANCO. THIS STRATUS IS FORECAST TO DISSIPATE BY 15Z THIS MORNING. SKIES WILL REMAIN VFR THROUGH THIS EVENING BUT MID AND HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS WILL INCREASE THIS AFTERNOON AND PERSIST DURING THE EVENING. COVERAGE OF STRATUS TONIGHT IS EXPECTED TO ONCE AGAIN BE LIMITED TO LOCAL COVERAGE IN THE COQUILLE BASIN. /DW && .MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OR...FROST ADVISORY UNTIL 7 AM PDT THIS MORNING FOR ORZ029. CA...FROST ADVISORY UNTIL 7 AM PDT THIS MORNING FOR CAZ084. PZ...NONE. 08/99/99
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR 109 AM PDT SAT MAY 19 2012 CAZ084-ORZ029-191400- NORTHEAST SISKIYOU AND NORTHWEST MODOC COUNTIES-KLAMATH BASIN- 109 AM PDT SAT MAY 19 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND SOUTH CENTRAL OREGON. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT THE FROST ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM UNTIL 7 AM PDT THIS MORNING. PLEASE SEE THE LATEST ADVISORY MESSAGE FOR FURTHER DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY THE FROST ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM PDT THIS MORNING. OTHERWISE NO SIGNIFICANT WEATHER IS EXPECTED DURING THIS PERIOD. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 frost/freeze. Local standard time, as filed.
Reported low temperatures ranged from 26 to 32 degrees.
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, May 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: 375095.