Another in a series of storms brought high winds to portions of southwest and south central Oregon.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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 portions of southwest and south central Oregon.
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 17, 3:00 PM PST, 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
300 PM PST THU DEC 17 2015
.DISCUSSION...
...SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT...THE COLD FRONT
THAT WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF RAIN AND WIND THIS
EVENING AND TONIGHT LIES JUST OFF OUR COAST. THE WARM FRONT HAS
LIFTED TO THE NORTH, AND WITH IT, SNOW LEVELS HAVE RISEN AND MUCH
OF THE HEAVIER RAIN HAS COME TO AN END FOR MOST OF THE AREA.
HOWEVER, THE PRE-FRONTAL BAND OF RAIN AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT HAS
ALREADY STARTED TO MOVE ONSHORE AT THE COAST, AND THIS WILL ONLY
BECOME HEAVIER THROUGH THE EVENING. WINDS WILL ALSO INCREASE AHEAD
OF THE FRONT, AND FORECAST PRESSURE GRADIENTS SUGGEST THAT WINDS
IN THE SHASTA VALLEY AND MUCH OF THE EAST SIDE WILL REACH WIND
ADVISORY CRITERIA, WHILE ALONG THE COAST AND THE MORE SUSCEPTIBLE
PORTIONS OF THE EAST SIDE WILL HAVE AT LEAST GUSTS THAT REACH HIGH
WIND WARNING PARAMETERS.
RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL BE SIGNIFICANT WITH THIS SYSTEM, AND THOUGH
THEY MIGHT NOT STACK UP TO SOME OF THE PREVIOUS SYSTEMS THIS
MONTH, THE SATURATED SOILS AND BANKFULL RIVERS AND STREAMS GIVE
CAUSE FOR CONCERN. WITH THE MAJORITY OF THIS NEW RAINFALL LIKELY
TO BECOME RUN- OFF, WATER LEVELS ARE LIKELY TO REACT QUICKLY. HAVE
THEREFORE UPGRADED THE AREAL FLOOD WATCH TO A WARNING, AS SOME
REPORTS OF HIGH STREAMS HAVE ALREADY ARRIVED, AND THE BULK OF THE
RAIN HAS YET TO DO SO ITSELF. SEVERAL MAIN STREAM RIVERS REMAIN IN
WATCH STATUS, ALTHOUGH FLOODING IS LIKELY, ESPECIALLY FOR THE
COQUILLE AND ITS TRIBUTARIES.
SNOW LEVELS HAVE RISEN TO ABOVE 7000 FEET FOR MOST AREAS,
ALTHOUGH SOME LOCATIONS OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND EAST OF THE
CASCADES COULD STILL SEE SOME SNOWFLAKES THIS AFTERNOON. BEHIND
THE FRONT, SNOW LEVELS WILL DROP QUICKLY TO AROUND 3000 FEET OR
LOWER, BUT THIS WOULD BE EXPECTED DURING THE PERIOD OF SHOWERS,
AND NOT DURING THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION. THEREFORE, THE HIGH
PEAKS WILL SEE HEAVY SNOW ONCE AGAIN, WHILE THE PASSES SHOULD ONLY
PICK UP A FEW INCHES.
THE FRONT SHOULD PASS COMPLETELY THROUGH THE AREA BY LATE FRIDAY
MORNING OR EARLY AFTERNOON, AND WINDS SHOULD DIMINISH AS PASSAGE
OCCURS. SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE INTO THE WEEKEND AS THE COLD POOL OF
AIR ALOFT PRODUCES WEAK INSTABILITY. THIS WILL BE QUICKLY FOLLOWED
BY THE NEXT, ALTHOUGH MUCH WEAKER, FRONTAL SYSTEM SUNDAY MORNING.
SNOW LEVELS WILL BEGIN AT AROUND 2000 FEET SUNDAY MORNING, BUT
RISE TO ABOVE 4000 FEET AS THE SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH. WINDS WILL BE
MUCH WEAKER, ALTHOUGH STILL BREEZY, AND RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL NOT
BE AS EXTREME. SHOWERS WILL THEN CONTINUE THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT.
-BPN
&&
.AVIATION...FOR THE 17/18Z TAF CYCLE...AREAS OF MVFR AND IFR CIGS
WITH HIGHER TERRAIN OBSCURED WILL PERSIST THROUGH TONIGHT AS A WARM
FRONT MOVES THROUGH...FOLLOWED BY A COLD FRONT TONIGHT. LOW LEVEL
WIND SHEAR WILL OCCUR ALONG THE COAST...COAST RANGE...AND IN THE
UMPQUA BASIN...INCLUDING KOTH AND KRBG...ENDING AFTER THE COLD FRONT
MOVES THROUGH. SNOW IS FALLING AT KLMT...WITH 1-3 INCHES EXPECTED
BY 18Z. SNOW WILL CONTINUE TO FALL AT KLMT BEFORE TRANSITIONING TO
RAIN WITHIN THE NEXT FEW HOURS. -MND
&&
.MARINE...UPDATED 830 AM PST THURSDAY 17 DEC 2015...ANOTHER
STRONG FRONT WILL MOVE ONSHORE LATE TONIGHT. THIS FRONT WILL BRING
GALES TO MOST OF THE AREA TONIGHT...BUT FREQUENT STORM FORCE GUSTS
WILL DEVELOP ALONG A NARROW AREA OF THE COASTAL WATERS FROM GOLD
BEACH NORTH. MORE FRONTS WILL MOVE ONSHORE SATURDAY NIGHT AND
MONDAY. MODERATE WEST TO NORTHWESTERLY SWELL WILL PERSIST THROUGH
MONDAY. -JRS/BPN
&&
.MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 4 AM PST FRIDAY FOR ORZ021-022.
FLOOD WATCH THROUGH LATE TONIGHT FOR ORZ021>024.
HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 10 PM THIS EVENING TO 10 AM PST FRIDAY
FOR ORZ030-031.
CA...HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 10 PM THIS EVENING TO 10 AM PST FRIDAY
FOR CAZ085.
WIND ADVISORY FROM 10 PM THIS EVENING TO 10 AM PST FRIDAY FOR
CAZ081.
PACIFIC COASTAL WATERS...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 4 AM PST FRIDAY FOR PZZ356.
FLOOD WATCH THROUGH LATE TONIGHT FOR PZZ356.
STORM WARNING FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 1 AM PST FRIDAY FOR
PZZ350-356-370-376.
GALE WARNING UNTIL 1 AM PST FRIDAY FOR PZZ350-356-370-376.
BPN/DW/BPNThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Squaw Peak RAWS recorded gusts exceeding 58 mph several times during this interval, mostly near the end. The peak wind was 81 mph recorded at 17/2239 PST.
The Flynn Prairie RAWS recorded gusts exceeding 58 mph continuously during this interval. The peak wind was 68 mph recorded at 17/2013 PST, 17/2213 PST, and 18/0113 PST. The Gold Beach ASOS recorded a gust to 58 mph at 17/2259 PST.
The Port Orford NOS-NWLON recorded ten gusts exceeding 57 mph during this interval. The peak wind was 61 mph recorded at 17/2354 PST.
The Summer Lake RAWS recorded a gust to 63 mph at 18/0338 PST. The Summit RAWS recorded several gusts exceeding 57 mph from 17/2004 PST until 18/0003 PST. The peak gust was 61 mph recorded at 18/0003 PST.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, 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: 609901, 609900, 609899, 609902.