Heavy rains brought flooding to several rivers and creeks in southwest Oregon.
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.
Heavy rains brought flooding to several rivers and creeks in southwest 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 14, 8:00 PM PST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Medford OR
800 PM PST Wed Dec 14 2016
.UPDATE...No major changes were necessary this evening as the
current forecast appears to be on track. Rainfall continues across
the area as the cold front begins to push east over the coast and
across the forecast area. Standing water and full ditches will
continue to be a concern until the rain ends later tonight, and a
flood warning continues for Deer Creek at Roseburg. For more
information, see the previous discussion below. -BPN
&&
.AVIATION...15/00Z TAF CYCLE...Freezing levels will drop to around
2000 to 3000 feet by midnight. IFR to LIFR conditions are expected
to return to most of the west side this evening. east of the
Cascades will see mostly MVFR ceilings, but with warmer air moving
over the recently heavy snowfall some areas of fog are possible.
Ceilings are not expected to rise to vfr over almost all of the
region tomorrow. Sven
&&
.MARINE...Updated 800 PM PST Wednesday 14 December 2016...The front
has moved through the area and weaker north winds have moved in
behind. The fresh south swell generated by the south winds ahead of
the upper low are expected to migrate northward through the northern
waters this evening and continue through Thursday. North winds will
increase some with borderline small craft possible in the southern
outer waters late Thursday afternoon and evening. Calmer conditions
are expected Friday into next weekend. Very high and very long
period swell may possibly move into the waters Tuesday. -Sven/BPN
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /Issued 322 PM PST Wed Dec 14 2016/
DISCUSSION...A high-impact winter storm continues to affect
Northern California and Southern Oregon with heavy rain at the
coast and west of the Cascades, snow east of the Cascades from
Chiloquin northward, and some high winds in the Shasta Valley and
areas east of the Cascades.
A Winter Storm Warning will expire around 4pm as snow levels
continue to rise over the Cascades and portions of the East Side.
After that time, the most significant impacts will be confined to
areas east of the Cascades north of Chiloquin where lingering
cold air at the surface will help maintain snow or a mix of
snow/rain/freezing rain through the afternoon, potentially
changing to all rain this evening, then transitioning back to snow
tonight with snow expected through early Thursday morning. We have
relied on HRRR surface temperature output to provide an idea on
where the freezing temperatures will last the longest and have
adjusted based on observations. A Winter Weather Advisory at WSW
has been issued to cover this. Snow is also expected to impact the
highest elevations of the Cascades through the night, like the
Crater Lake Rim. Lower elevations in the mountains will likely
receive sub- advisory snow amounts but still expect some snow
accumulation in the mountain passes as the cold front moves
through quickly Thursday morning.
The heavy rain threat continues through Thursday morning, and an
Areal Flood Watch has been maintained at FFAMFR to highlight the
potential impacts from the rain. We have added most of Jackson
County given the already-impressive rainfall received last night and
today. Also, we have issued a flood advisory for some areas of the
West Side to include the Applegate and Highway 238 and the Illinois
Valley area. Models suggest that when the front pushes back to the
south tonight, the duration of heavy rain won't be long-duration, so
the threat for flooding does diminish some tonight. Still, rivers
and streams are rising sharply this afternoon, and drivers should
use caution when traveling in flood-prone areas. -NSK
Winds in the short term will be another major concern in the
forecast. The strongest winds are expected to be across the
Cascades and eastward this afternoon and evening. Current
observations indicate that winds are following the forecast well
in the Shasta valley as well as in Modoc County, but are slow to
increase across the Eastside in Oregon. Winds are still forecast
to pick up later this evening, around 4:00 PM PST. They will begin
to come down around 7 or 8 PM PST and become lighter after 4 AM
PST. While winds are strong, visibilities may be reduced due to
rainfall and possible blowing snow. Otherwise, winds will be
relatively light for the next few days.
Temperatures are going to be the main concern after this system
moves out of the area. Although temperatures are going to be heavily
moderated due to cloud cover tonight through tomorrow, skies are
expected to clear out and this will allow temperatures to plummet,
especially across areas which are snow-covered beginning Friday
night. West of the Cascades including the coast, temperatures are
going to range in the 20s and 30s with a few isolated higher
elevation places reaching into the teens. Meanwhile on the Eastside
and across Modoc County, temperatures are expected to reach into the
teens and single digits.
The coldest night will be on Friday night. Guidance is showing
frigid temperatures across the Eastside, but the clear skies and
cloud cover will likely mean even colder temperatures than what
guidance is showing. This means that temperatures will reach near
zero and below zero in many locations including Klamath Falls,
Lakeview, and Alturas. More northerly places like Chemult may even
see temperatures plummeting to negative 10 degrees. West of the
cascades, temperatures will remain similar with lows reaching the
20s and 30s with the warmer of these temperatures occurring near the
coast. Temperatures will be slow to recover, and will continue the
cold trends through the weekend. -Schaaf
Saturday through Wednesday...It will be a cold start to the
weekend Saturday morning with at least freezing temperatures over
the entire area inland from the immediate coast. With mainly clear
skies, fresh snow cover, and a 1030 mb surface high parked just to
the east, the east side will be quite cold. Lows Saturday morning
will be below zero over much of the east side, with lows
potentially 10 to 15 degrees below zero over northern Klamath and
Lake counties. On Sunday, the GFS shows a weak disturbance
bringing some snow showers to the north Cascades and portions of
the east side. The ECMWF and GEM show the disturbance much further
north and not affecting us at all. It's worthy of some low pops,
but we've definitely skewed it toward the drier solutions. Monday
should be dry as a weak ridge pokes in over us, but by Tuesday and
Wednesday, another system is likely to bring precipitation to our
area. All the models show a moderately wet system during this
timeframe, but there are some timing differences with the ECMWF
being about 12 hours faster than any other model. Snow levels
should be high enough (4000 feet plus) that impacts will be mostly
in the mountains. However, the east side may see snow in places.
-Wright
&&
.MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...High Wind Warning until 10 PM PST this evening for ORZ030-031.
Winter Weather Advisory until 10 AM PST Thursday for ORZ030-031.
Wind Advisory until 10 PM PST this evening for ORZ030-031.
Flood Watch until 4 AM PST Thursday for ORZ021-022-024-026-028.
Wind Advisory until 10 PM PST this evening for ORZ029.
CA...High Wind Warning until 10 PM PST this evening for CAZ085.
Wind Advisory until 10 PM PST this evening for CAZ085.
Wind Advisory until 10 PM PST this evening for CAZ084.
Flood Watch through Thursday afternoon for CAZ080>083.
Flash Flood Watch until 10 PM PST this evening for CAZ080.
Flood Watch from 4 AM PST Thursday through Thursday evening for
CAZ084-085.
Pacific Coastal Waters...Flood Watch until 4 AM PST Thursday for PZZ356.
Small Craft Advisory until 10 PM PST this evening for
PZZ356-376.
BPN/SBN/BMS/NSKPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
702 PM PST WED DEC 14 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0702 PM HEAVY RAIN 4 N GRANTS PASS 42.50N 123.34W
12/14/2016 M1.80 INCH JOSEPHINE OR TRAINED SPOTTER
. THE DURATION OF THE HEAVY RAIN EVENT WAS
12 HOURS.
&&
SBNPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
1032 PM PST WED DEC 14 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1000 PM HEAVY RAIN 1 NNE LANGLOIS 42.94N 124.45W
12/14/2016 U3.63 INCH CURRY OR TRAINED SPOTTER
2.88 INCHES FOR 12 HOUR RAINFALL SINCE 10
PM.
&&
CCPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
1033 PM PST WED DEC 14 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0900 PM HEAVY RAIN 1 N ROSEBURG 43.23N 123.36W
12/14/2016 U2.17 INCH DOUGLAS OR TRAINED SPOTTER
. THE DURATION OF THE HEAVY RAIN EVENT WAS
24 HOURS.
&&
CCPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
1034 PM PST WED DEC 14 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0800 PM HEAVY RAIN 7 ESE COOS BAY 43.35N 124.09W
12/14/2016 U2.12 INCH COOS OR TRAINED SPOTTER
. THE DURATION OF THE HEAVY RAIN EVENT WAS
24 HOURS.
&&
CCPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
1056 PM PST WED DEC 14 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1056 PM HEAVY RAIN 2 NNE CENTRAL POINT 42.41N 122.90W
12/14/2016 M1.65 INCH JACKSON OR PUBLIC
. THE DURATION OF THE HEAVY RAIN EVENT WAS
23 HOURS.
&&
CCPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
1205 AM PST THU DEC 15 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1200 AM HEAVY RAIN GLENDALE 42.74N 123.43W
12/15/2016 U4.13 INCH DOUGLAS OR TRAINED SPOTTER
. THE DURATION OF THE HEAVY RAIN EVENT WAS
24 HOURS.
&&
CCThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Rogue River at Agness rose above flood stage (17.0 feet) at 15/0015 PST. The river crested at 24.14 feet at 15/1215 PST. The river fell below flood stage at 16/0630 PST.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, December 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: 665759.