An incoming front brought snow to many areas of south central Oregon, but the heavy snow was isolated.
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.
An incoming front brought snow to many areas of south central Oregon, but the heavy snow was isolated.
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 Jan 14, 8:55 AM PST, 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
855 AM PST THU JAN 14 2016
.UPDATE...THE FORECAST REMAINS LARGELY ON TRACK WITH CURRENT
SATELLITE AND RADAR SHOWING THE WARM FRONT MOVING THROUGH OUR AREA
WITH THE COLD FRONT CLOSE BEHIND BEGINNING TO MOVE ASHORE. THIS
MEANS THAT WE ARE STILL EXPECTING RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS ACROSS
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHERN OREGON TODAY. HAVE MADE NO
CHANGES TO THE PREVIOUS FORECAST FOR TODAY.
THE MAIN FORECAST CHALLENGES FOR TODAY WILL BE THE TIMING OF WHEN
THE FRONT LEAVES AND IF FOG WILL OCCUR AGAIN TONIGHT. MORE
IMPORTANTLY, THE BIG CHALLENGE WILL BE THE TIMING AND AMOUNT OF
PRECIPITATION THIS WEEKEND AS A SOUTHERLY ATMOSPHERIC RIVER TAKES
AIM AT THE SOUTHERN OREGON AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST. MORE
INFORMATION ABOUT THAT IS BELOW. -SCHAAF
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 425 AM PST THU JAN 14 2016/
UPDATED AVIATION AND MARINE DISCUSSIONS.
DISCUSSION...THE ACTIVE WINTER PATTERN CONTINUES. TODAY'S FRONT
MOVES IN ON THE NOSE OF A 120 KT JET THAT IS CENTERED ON THE CA-OR
STATE LINE. WITH THE 700 MB FLOW FROM THE WEST AND A COOLER AIR
MASS THE SNOW LEVELS WILL BE DOWN TO THE CASCADE AND SISKIYOU PASS
LEVELS AND DOWN TO MT SHASTA CITY...AND THE CURRENT WINTER WEATHER
ADVISORY LOOKS ON TRACK. HOWEVER...THE LATEST MODELS RUNS ARE NOT
SHOWING AS STRONG OF A BOUNDARY LAYER OR 925 MB WINDS AND WITH AN
OFFSHORE GRADIENT FOR THE BULK OF THE EVENT AM NOT EXPECTING
A COASTAL BARRIER JET TO FORM. WITH THE PERPENDICULAR 700 MB FLOW
IN THE COOL AIR MASS SHOWERS WILL SLOWLY TAPER OFF BEHIND THE
FRONT AS A BRIEF UPPER LEVEL RIDGE BUILDS OVER THE REGION FRIDAY.
THIS RIDGE QUICKLY ERODES AS THE NEXT SYSTEM MOVES IN LATE FRIDAY
AFTERNOON WITH A WARM FRONT BRINGING A BROAD PRECIP SHIELD INTO
THE REGION FRIDAY EVENING. THIS WILL KEEP THE OVERNIGHT FRIDAY
NIGHT LOWS WARMER THAN THIS MORNING WITH THE INCREASED CLOUD
COVER...BUT THE MOUNT SHASTA AREA SHOULD SEE A COUPLE OF INCHES
OF SNOW WITH THE WARM FRONT EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. SATURDAYS
SYSTEM WILL SEE BROADER UPPER DIVERGENCE WITH STRONGER LOW LEVEL
CONVERGENCE AND STRONGER WINDS IN GENERAL OVER THE REGION AND AT
THE COAST. WITH THE STRONG WARM CONVEYOR FLOW SNOW LEVELS SHOULD
RISE ABOVE MOST PASS LEVELS. THE WEAK RIDGE PATTERN AHEAD OF THE
NEXT SYSTEM REPEATS LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON INTO SATURDAY NIGHT
AHEAD OF THE NEXT SYSTEM SUNDAY. THIS FRONT LOOKS TO BE AN
ATMOSPHERIC RIVER EVENT AND QUITE WET. SVEN
AVIATION...FOR THE 14/12Z TAF CYCLE...CONDITIONS HAVE STABILIZED
ENOUGH FOR LIFR CIGS/VIS TO DEVELOP IN THE UMPQUA BASIN AND ROGUE
VALLEY INCLUDING ROSEBURG AND MEDFORD. THE TAF AT ROSEBURG AND
MEDFORD SHOWS IMPROVING CONDITIONS AT 20Z AND 18Z RESPECTIVELY, BUT
CONFIDENCE IS LOW ON EXACT TIMING. CIGS COULD IMPROVE TO VFR FOR A
BRIEF TIME AS THE FRONT APPROACHES THIS AFTERNOON, BUT MVFR CIGS ARE
EXPECTED TO BE THE PREDOMINATE CONDITION IN SHOWERS THIS AFTERNOON
AND EVENING. LOW LEVEL WIND SHEAR IS LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON FOR
WESTSIDE TAFS AND THERE'S A CHANCE SOME OF THE STRONGER WINDS COULD
MIX DOWN AT MEDFORD THIS AFTERNOON. FREEZING LEVELS ACROSS THE
REGION SHOULD HOVER BETWEEN 3000 AND 3500 FEET ABOVE MSL THROUGHOUT
THE TAF PERIOD. -PETRUCELLI
MARINE...UPDATED 425 AM PST THURSDAY 14 JAN 2016...WINDS ARE
ALREADY STARTING TO INCREASE AS THE NEXT FRONTAL BOUNDARY APPROACHES
THE OUTER WATERS. THE LATEST MODELS HAVE TRENDED LOWER WITH WIND
SPEEDS AND THE COASTAL JET IS ABSENT. THEREFORE WINDS ARE EXPECTED
TO REMAIN BELOW STORM FORCE, THUS HAVE CANCELED THE STORM WARNING.
HOWEVER GALE WARNING CONTINUES FOR ALL AREAS INTO THIS EVENING. THE
FRONT WILL MOVE INLAND THIS EVENING AND WINDS WILL DECREASE. SEAS
ARE ALSO EXPECTED TO DIMINISH, BUT ONLY FOR A BRIEF TIME. A WEST
SWELL IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY RESULTING IN
HAZARDOUS SEAS CONDITIONS. SOUTH WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE OVER
THE OUTER WATERS AND COULD REACH GALES BY FRIDAY EVENING. MODELS
CONTINUE TO SHOW A HEAVY LONG PERIOD SWELL SATURDAY AFTERNOON INTO
SUNDAY. ACTIVE WEATHER WILL CONTINUE INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK.
-PETRUCELLI
&&
.MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 4 AM PST FRIDAY FOR ORZ029>031.
HIGH SURF ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM PST THIS EVENING FOR ORZ021-022.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 4 AM PST FRIDAY FOR ORZ027-028.
WIND ADVISORY FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 10 PM PST THIS EVENING
FOR ORZ024-026.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 4 AM PST FRIDAY FOR ORZ025.
CA...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 4 AM PST FRIDAY FOR CAZ084.
WIND ADVISORY FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 10 PM PST THIS EVENING
FOR CAZ081.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 4 AM PST FRIDAY FOR
CAZ080>083-085.
PACIFIC COASTAL WATERS...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING
TO 4 PM PST FRIDAY FOR PZZ350-356-376.
GALE WARNING UNTIL 7 PM PST THIS EVENING FOR PZZ350-356-370-376.
HAZARDOUS SEAS WARNING FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 4 PM PST FRIDAY
FOR PZZ350-356-370-376.
BMS/SBN/MAPThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
The cooperative observer 12NW Chiloquin reported 12 inches of snow in 24 hours on this date.
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, January 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: 610497.