The last of a series of fronts brought high winds to 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.
The last of a series of fronts brought high winds to 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 Feb 19, 3:21 AM PST, 3 hours 41 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
321 AM PST FRI FEB 19 2016
.DISCUSSION...A VERY POTENT STORM SYSTEM IS BEGINNING TO MAKE ITS
WAY INTO OUR AREA THIS MORNING. GUSTY WINDS HAVE ALREADY STARTED
ALONG THE COAST AND IN THE SHASTA VALLEY, AND WILL SHORTLY MAKE
THEIR WAY INTO THE ROGUE VALLEY AND THE EAST SIDE, IF THEY HAVEN'T
ALREADY. NUMEROUS HEADLINES ARE OUT, INCLUDING WIND ADVISORIES AND
HIGH WIND WARNINGS, AS WELL AS WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES FOR SNOW
OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF THE CASCADES, SISKIYOUS, AND MARBLE
MOUNTAINS.
STRONG GUSTY WINDS ARE, QUITE FRANKLY, A CERTAINTY TODAY, AS THE
NEGATIVELY TILTED UPPER LEVEL TROUGH IS A COMMON SIGNATURE OF SUCH
AN EVENT, AND AS MENTIONED ABOVE, HAVE ALREADY STARTED TO APPEAR
IN AREA OBSERVATIONS. MODEL PRESSURE GRADIENTS HAVE ALSO TIGHTENED
UP A BIT WITH THE SYSTEM OVER THE PAST FEW RUNS, WHICH HAS
WARRANTED SOME CHANGES IN THE FORECAST, BUT THE OVERALL EFFECTS
AND MESSAGE IS THE SAME. FOR MORE DETAILS ON THE WIND HEADLINES,
SEE THE WEATHER MESSAGE AT PDXNPWMFR.
PRECIPITATION-WISE, MODELS HAVE TRENDED A BIT WETTER WITH THIS
FRONT, ESPECIALLY ALONG THE SOUTHWEST COAST AND ALONG THE
MOUNTAINS. WHILE PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN WILL RESULT IN RISES IN
AREA STREAMS AND RIVERS, NO FLOODING IS EXPECTED. THE INCREASE IN
MOISTURE HAS RESULTED IN AN INCREASE OF SNOW AMOUNTS AS WELL, BUT
AGAIN, THE LOCATIONS AFFECTED ARE ALREADY UNDER WINTER WEATHER
HEADLINES, SO NO MAJOR CHANGES ARE NECESSARY TO THE IMPACT
MESSAGING. SNOW AMOUNTS WILL CAUSE SOME TRAVEL HEADACHES OVER THE
AREA PASSES ABOVE ROUGHLY 4000 TO 4500 FEET, INCLUDING ALL MAJOR
CASCADE PASSES AND AREA ROADS OVER THE SISKIYOU AND MARBLE
MOUNTAINS, ALTHOUGH SISKIYOU SUMMIT APPEARS TO DODGE THE WORST OF
IT, AND SHOULD ONLY RECEIVE LIGHT AMOUNTS. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON
THE WINTER WEATHER HEADLINES, SEE THE WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE AT
PDXWSWMFR.
THE REST OF THE FORECAST WILL SEEM QUITE BENIGN COMPARED TO THE
NEXT 24 HOURS. SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE TONIGHT BEHIND THE FRONT, BUT
THESE WILL TAPER OFF BY SATURDAY MORNING. UPPER LEVEL RIDGING AND
SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WILL THEN BUILD IN AND, OTHER THAN SOME
SHORT PERIODS, WILL REMAIN IN CONTROL FOR THE DURATION OF THE
FORECAST. ONE OF THESE SHORT PERIODS WILL BE SUNDAY, WHEN A
SHORTWAVE WITHIN THE FLOW ALOFT WILL ATTEMPT TO RIDE UP AND OVER
THE RIDGE. THIS WILL PUSH A FRONT ONSHORE WELL TO OUR NORTH, WITH
THE TRAILING EDGE HANGING SOUTH INTO OUR FORECAST AREA. EXPECT
INCREASED CLOUDS AND SOME LIGHT PRECIPITATION SUNDAY, BUT WITH
SNOW LEVELS AROUND 5000 FEET OR ABOVE, NO MAJOR IMPACTS ARE
EXPECTED.
ANOTHER WAVE IS POSSIBLE TUESDAY NIGHT, BUT THERE IS LOW
CONFIDENCE IN THE TIMING OR STRENGTH OF THIS SYSTEM, AS THERE IS
LITTLE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GFS, ECMWF, AND OTHER SYNOPTIC
MODELS, SO NOTHING MORE THAN A SLIGHT CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION
REMAINS IN THE FORECAST FOR NOW. THE NEXT POSSIBLE WEATHER MAKER
DOESN'T ARRIVE UNTIL NEXT WEEKEND, BUT AGAIN, DETAILS ARE SKETCHY
AT BEST, HOWEVER, THE GFS AND ECMWF ARE IN SURPRISINGLY GOOD
AGREEMENT FOR THIS TIME RANGE. HAVE THEREFORE INTRODUCED A BETTER
THAN AVERAGE CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION FOR NEXT WEEKEND.
DESPITE DRIER AND WARMER CONDITIONS DURING THE HIGH PRESSURE
PERIODS, ONE FORECAST CONCERN WILL BE OFFSHORE FLOW AND VALLEY
INVERSIONS. THE PREDOMINANT OFFSHORE FLOW COULD RESULT IN VERY
WARM TEMPERATURES WEST OF THE CASCADES, ESPECIALLY IN VALLEYS AND
ALONG THE COAST WHERE DOWNSLOPING AND WARMING WOULD BE GREATEST.
OVERNIGHT, THE VALLEY INVERSIONS WOULD RETURN AS WARM AIR STAYS
ALOFT AND COLD AIR SETTLES IN THE VALLEY, AND A LIKELY RESULT WILL
BE FOG AND/OR LOW STRATUS CLOUDS. WHILE THESE POSSIBILITIES EXIST,
PINNING THE DETAILS DOWN IS DIFFICULT AT BEST GIVEN THE TIME RANGE
AND COMPLEXITY OF THE PATTERN AND TERRAIN. THEREFORE, WHILE
TEMPERATURES WERE ADJUSTED UP, AND FOG WAS ADDED TO THE FORECAST,
EXPECT THESE PARAMETERS TO CHANGE OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL FORECAST
CYCLES. -BPN
&&
.AVIATION...FOR THE 19/06Z TAF CYCLE...EXPECT MVFR CONDITIONS
TONIGHT IN SOME LINGERING SHOWERS AND TERRAIN OBSCURATION. GUSTY
WINDS WILL DIMINISH IN MOST AREAS TONIGHT...AND THEN INCREASE EARLY
FRIDAY MORNING AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT. TURBULENCE WILL BE WIDESPREAD
FRIDAY MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON. A PERIOD OF LOW LEVEL WIND SHEAR
IS LIKELY TONIGHT INTO EARLY FRIDAY MORNING AT THE COAST AND INLAND
TO ROSEBURG BEFORE SURFACE WINDS BECOME GUSTY. THE FRONT WILL BRING
MVFR CIGS AND PRECIPITATION TO ALL TERMINALS...WITH LOWER VIS IN
HEAVIER SHOWERS. THE HEAVIEST SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED AROUND 6AM PST AT
THE COAST AND 9AM PST IN WEST SIDE VALLEYS.
GIVEN THE STRENGTH OF THE COLD AIR MASS BEHIND THE FRONT, THERE IS A
SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS AND SMALL HAIL FRIDAY MORNING OVER
THE MARINE WATERS...ALONG THE COAST...AND INLAND OVER PORTIONS OF
THE WEST SIDE. EAST OF THE CASCADES...SNOW LEVELS DURING THE
HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION ARE FORECAST TO BE BETWEEN 4000 TO 4500
FEET...SO THERE IS SOME UNCERTAINTY AS TO PRECIPITATION TYPE AT
KLMT. SK
&&
.MARINE...UPDATED 1030 PM PST THU 18 FEB 2016...WINDS ARE BEGINNING
TO RAMP UP AGAIN AHEAD OF A VERY STRONG COLD FRONT. WIND GUSTS WILL
REACH STORM FORCE CRITERIA IN SOME AREAS FRIDAY MORNING...WITH WIND
WAVES AS HIGH AS 18 FEET. SEAS WILL BE VERY DANGEROUS DUE TO THE
COMBINATION OF CHOPPY WIND WAVES AND VERY HIGH SWELL. MARINERS
WITHOUT PROPER EXPERIENCE ARE URGED TO REMAIN IN PORT OR SEEK SAFE
HARBOR UNTIL THIS BOUT OF HAZARDOUS WEATHER PASSES.
IN ADDITION TO WINDS...THE FRONT WILL ALSO BRING SHOWERS OVER THE
MARINE WATERS, WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDER. BUILDING HIGH
PRESSURE WILL CAUSE WINDS TO DECREASE AND PRECIPITATION TO DIMINISH
FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT...BUT SEAS MAY REMAIN HAZARDOUS
DUE TO SWELL. ANOTHER FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH ON SUNDAY...BRINGING
STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS. -MSC/SK
&&
.MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 7 PM PST THIS EVENING FOR ORZ030-031.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM PST THIS
EVENING FOR ORZ027-028.
HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 10 AM PST THIS MORNING FOR ORZ021-022.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 1 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON FOR ORZ026.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM PST THIS EVENING FOR ORZ029.
CA...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM PST THIS EVENING FOR CAZ084.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 7 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM PST THIS
EVENING FOR CAZ082-083.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 7 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM PST THIS
EVENING ABOVE 3500 FEET FOR FOR CAZ080.
HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 1 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON FOR CAZ081.
HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 7 PM PST THIS EVENING FOR CAZ085.
PACIFIC COASTAL WATERS...STORM WARNING UNTIL 10 AM PST THIS MORNING FOR
PZZ350-356-370-376.
GALE WARNING UNTIL NOON PST TODAY FOR PZZ350-356-370-376.
HAZARDOUS SEAS WARNING FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 4 AM PST
SATURDAY FOR PZZ350-356-376.
HAZARDOUS SEAS WARNING FROM NOON TODAY TO 4 AM PST SATURDAY FOR
PZZ370.
BPN/CC/NSKThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Indian Well RAWS recorded a gust to 61 mph at 19/0801 PST. The Van Bremmer RAWS recorded a gust to 59 mph at 19/1831 PST.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in California, February 2016
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: 613522.