Another in a series of storms brought high winds to isolate portions of northern California.
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.
Another in a series of storms brought high winds to isolate portions of northern California.
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 20, 8:00 PM PST, 3 hours 21 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
800 PM PST SUN DEC 20 2015
.DISCUSSION...21/00Z NAM IN. 21/00Z GFS IN THROUGH 84HR.
THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS WILL BE CHARACTERIZED BY STRONG WEST TO
NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WITH EMBEDDED SHORT WAVES MOVING THROUGH.
SEVERAL OF THESE SHORT WAVES WILL MOVE THROUGH TOMORROW MORNING.
THESE WILL BRING A PERIOD OF HEAVY PRECIPITATION AND STRONG
WINDS...ESPECIALLY OVER HIGHER TERRAIN. HOWEVER...THE COAST WILL
SEE SOME HIGH WINDS AS WELL AS A SURFACE FRONT MOVES ONSHORE. THE
PERIOD OF HIGH WINDS THERE WILL BE BRIEF AS THE WARM FRONT IS
FOLLOWED QUICKLY BY THE TRAILING COLD FRONT...AND THE STRONGEST
WINDS WILL OCCUR BETWEEN THE FRONTS.
THERE WILL BE HEAVY SNOW OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN MONDAY INTO
MONDAY NIGHT WITH WARNINGS ISSUED FOR THE CASCADES AND HIGHER
TERRAIN OF THE EAST SIDE. SOME AREAS OF THE EAST SIDE WILL NOT
HAVE AS MUCH SNOW BUT WILL GET STRONG WINDS AND THUS REDUCED
VISIBILITIES IN BLOWING SNOW. THIS INCLUDES THE SUMMER LAKE AREA
AND THE WARNERS. SNOW LEVELS WILL START OFF BELOW PASS LEVELS AT
ROUND 3500 FEET...BUT WILL RISE TO 4500-5500 FEET MONDAY
AFTERNOON.
THERE WILL BE A BREAK IN THE ACTION MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY
NIGHT AS THE STORM TRACK MOVES NORTH. EXPECT LIGHTER WINDS AND
LIGHT SHOWER ACTIVITY DURING THIS INTERVAL. A STRONG SHORT WAVE
MOVING ONSHORE TO THE NORTH TUESDAY EVENING WILL PUSH A FRONT
ONSHORE. HOWEVER...WITH THE BEST UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT TO THE
NORTH...THE FRONT WILL NOT BE VERY STRONG OVER SOUTHERN OREGON.
THE ASSOCIATED PRECIPITATION WILL BE SIGNIFICANT BUT MUCH LESS
THAN THE MONDAY SYSTEM. SNOW LEVELS WILL GENERALLY BE 4000 TO 5000
FEET...A BIT HIGHER OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.
THE STORM TRACK WILL SAG BACK SOUTH WEDNESDAY AND A STRONG SHORT
WAVE WILL MOVE IN WEDNESDAY EVENING. THIS WAVE WILL DIG OUT A LONG
WAVE TROUGH AS IT MOVES ONSHORE. THE ASSOCIATED WARM FRONT WILL
MOVE ONSHORE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON FOLLOWED BY THE COLD FRONT
WEDNESDAY EVENING. AT THIS TIME WINDS LOOK TO BE LIGHTER THAN THE
MONDAY SYSTEM. PRECIPITATION IS STILL A BIG QUESTION MARK AS THE
MODELS ARE SHOWING QUITE A RANGE OF SOLUTIONS REGARDING THAT
PARAMETER. IF THE WETTER SOLUTIONS HOLD....THERE MAY BE FLOODING
ISSUES OVER PARTS OF THE WEST SIDE. SNOW WILL BE A BIGGER FACTOR
THOUGH AS SNOW LEVELS WILL DROP TO 2000-3000 FEET WEDNESDAY
MORNING.
LONG TERM DISCUSSION...THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. THURSDAY
MORNING STARTS WITH A COLD AIR MASS OVER THE REGION AND ONSHORE FLOW
COMBINING TO POSSIBLY BRING SNOW DOWN TO THE VALLEY FLOORS. THE AXIS
OF THE JET THAT IS BRINGING THIS SYSTEM THROUGH IS WELL SOUTH OF THE
REGION AND THE HEAVIER PRECIPITATION WILL BE ALSO. A STRONG
NORTHERLY JET OFFSHORE DIGS THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH SOUTH AND THE
BULK OF THIS SYSTEM WITH IT...BUT WITH THE VERY COLD AIR MASS AND
STRAIGHT ONSHORE 700 MB FLOW LAPSE RATES WILL BE STEEP NEAR THE
COAST AND SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE UP TO AND SPILLING SOME OVER THE
CASCADES AND POSSIBLY DROP TO THE VALLEY FLOOR AT TIMES. AS THE JET
MOVES INLAND FRIDAY MORNING THERE WILL BE SUPPORT FOR INCREASED
SHOWER ACTIVITY AS THE RIGHT ENTRANCE REGION OF THE JET MOVES ACROSS
THE AREA. AND WITH THE MORE NORTHERLY FLOW ALOFT THE AIR MASS
BECOMES EVEN COLDER WITH ANOTHER DUSTING OF SNOW POSSIBLE ON THE
VALLEY FLOORS ON THE WEST SIDE AS WELL ON CHRISTMAS DAY. WITH
THE COLD TEMPERATURES WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES IN THE WEST SIDE
VALLEYS ONLY CLIMBING TO THE MID TO UPPER 30S AND LOWS BELOW FREEZING
ON THURSDAY AND CHRISTMAS MORNING WHAT DOES REACH THE VALLEY
FLOORS HAVE A GOOD CHANCE OF STICKING. SHOWERS SHOULD CONTINUE
THROUGH THE DAY BUT WITH HIGHS AGAIN ONLY IN THE MID TO UPPER 30S
THE SNOW SHOULD CONTINUE TO REACH THE WEST SIDE VALLEY FLOORS
THROUGH THE DAY ON CHRISTMAS. AN UPPER RIDGE BUILDS IN AND CLEARS
THINGS OUT SATURDAY AND WITH THE COLD AIR MASS AND CLEARING SKIES A
VERY COLD SATURDAY AND SUNDAY MORNING LOOKS LIKELY WITH EAST
SIDE TEMPS IN THE SINGLE DIGITS. SVEN
&&
.AVIATION...FOR THE 21/00Z TAF CYCLE...A FRONT HAS MOVED
THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA TODAY AND MOSTLY VFR CONDITIONS EXIST WITH
ISOLATED MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS. TONIGHT...A MIX OF MVFR AND VFR
CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED. SOUTH WINDS WILL INCREASE AT THE
COAST...BECOMING STRONG BY MONDAY MORNING. MONDAY WILL FEATURE A
DYNAMIC WEATHER SYSTEM BRINGING HIGH WINDS AND INCREASING TURBULENCE
TO THE COAST...MOUNTAINS...AND AREAS EAST OF THE CASCADES. MODERATE
TO HEAVY PRECIPITATION WILL ACCOMPANY THE FRONT TOMORROW...AND MOST
LOCATIONS WILL FEATURE DEGRADING CONDITIONS AS THE FRONT PROGRESSES
WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA FROM THE MORNING INTO THE
EVENING. WIDESPREAD MOUNTAIN OBSCURATION AND REDUCED
VISIBILITIES IN MOUNTAIN AND EAST SIDE SNOWS ARE LIKELY.
&&
.MARINE...UPDATED 300 PM PST SUNDAY 20 DEC 2015...WE'LL CATCH A
BRIEF BREAK IN THE WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT....THEN A
STRONG WARM FRONT WILL ARRIVE LATE TONIGHT WITH WINDS SHIFTING SOUTH
AND INCREASING. GALES ARE EXPECTED...FOLLOWED BY A BRIEF PERIOD OF
STORM FORCE WINDS GENERALLY BETWEEN THE SHORELINE AND 20NM FROM
SHORE. THERE IS HIGH CONFIDENCE IN THE GALES AND MODERATE CONFIDENCE
IN STORM FORCE CONDITIONS. GIVEN THE VERY HIGH TIDES EXPECTED TO
ALIGN WITH THE STRONGEST SOUTH WINDS AND WIND WAVES THERE COULD BE
ENHANCED IMPACTS TO SOUTH FACING BEACHES...ESPECIALLY PORT ORFORD
HARBOR. WESTERLY GALES WILL FOLLOW THE STORM FORCE
CONDITIONS...BEHIND THE COLD FRONT.
&&
.MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 4 AM TO 10 PM PST MONDAY ABOVE 4500
FEET FOR FOR ORZ029>031.
WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 4 AM MONDAY TO 4 AM PST TUESDAY FOR
ORZ030-031.
HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 4 AM TO 1 PM PST MONDAY FOR ORZ021-022.
WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 4 AM MONDAY TO 4 AM PST TUESDAY FOR
ORZ027-028.
HIGH SURF ADVISORY FROM 4 AM TO NOON PST MONDAY FOR ORZ021.
CA...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 4 AM TO 10 PM PST MONDAY ABOVE 4500
FEET FOR FOR CAZ080>085.
WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 4 AM MONDAY TO 4 AM PST TUESDAY FOR
CAZ085.
WIND ADVISORY FROM 4 AM TO 1 PM PST MONDAY FOR CAZ081.
PACIFIC COASTAL WATERS...HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 4 AM TO 1 PM PST
MONDAY FOR PZZ356.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 4 PM PST MONDAY
FOR PZZ356.
STORM WARNING FROM 5 AM TO 10 AM PST MONDAY FOR
PZZ350-356-370-376.
GALE WARNING FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 4 PM PST MONDAY FOR
PZZ350-356-370-376.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS UNTIL 11 PM PST THIS
EVENING FOR PZZ350-356-370-376.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS FROM 4 PM MONDAY TO 4 PM
PST TUESDAY FOR PZZ350-356-370-376.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 5 AM PST MONDAY
FOR PZZ350-370-376.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM 10 AM TO 4 PM PST MONDAY FOR PZZ376.
15/15/15The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The KNF98 RAWS recorded gusts exceeding 58 mph almost continuously during this interval. The peak gust was 74 mph recorded at 21/0920 PST.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 2015
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: 609945.