A strong front brought high winds to portions of southwest and south central Oregon.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 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.
A strong front 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 Mar 1, 3:45 AM PST, 3 hours 29 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
345 AM PST TUE MAR 1 2016
.DISCUSSION...A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE COASTAL
WATERS THIS MORNING. THIS FRONT IS EXPECTED TO MOVE ASHORE LATE
THIS MORNING AND WILL BRING GUSTY SOUTH WINDS TO THE COAST THIS
MORNING...WITH GUSTY WINDS SPREADING INLAND THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
THE CURRENT SUITE OF HIGH WIND WARNING AT THE COAST AND AT THE
HIGHER TERRAIN OF THE EAST SIDE...AND WIND ADVISORY ARE ON TRACK.
RAIN IS EXPECTED AT THE COAST AROUND 10 AM THEN SPREAD INTO THE
DOUGLAS BASIN AND JOSEPHINE COUNTY AROUND NOON. BEST CHANCE FOR
RAIN IN THE ROGUE VALLEY WILL BE IN THE EARLY TO MID AFTERNOON.
THIS FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH OUR FORECAST AREA FAIRLY QUICKLY. BY
THIS EVENING THE FRONT IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE EASTERN THIRD
OF OREGON.
HIGH PRESSURE WILL BRING A BRIEF PERIOD OF DRY WEATHER TO THE AREA
ON WEDNESDAY WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE COAST AND WESTERN DOUGLAS
COUNTY WHERE LIGHT RAIN IS POSSIBLE AHEAD OF THE NEXT FRONT. BY
WEDNESDAY EVENING ANOTHER ROUND OF RAIN IS EXPECTED AND THIS NEXT
ROUND APPEARS HEAVIER IN TERM OF AMOUNT AT THE COAST AND IN THE
CASCADES. HOWEVER SNOW LEVELS WILL REMAIN QUITE HIGH AND SNOW MELT
COULD BECOME AN ISSUE IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE WEEK.
THE JETSTREAM REMAINS VERY ZONAL BUT SHOWS SIGNS OF SAGGING SOUTH
A BIT ON THURSDAY. THIS COULD BRING THE SNOW LEVELS DOWN TO AROUND
5500-6500 FEET. THE HIGHER PEAK COULD SEE SOME SNOW IN THE SECOND
HALF OF THE WEEK BUT SNOW AMOUNTS WILL BE LIGHT.
BOTH THE GFS AND THE ECMWF CONTINUE TO SHOW MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN
MOVING INLAND FROM FRIDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT
WEEK. SNOW LEVELS WILL FLUCTUATE WILDLY BETWEEN 5000 AND 7000
FEET. HYDROLOGY COULD BE AN ISSUE. /FB
&&
.AVIATION...FOR THE 01/06Z TAF CYCLE...VFR CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST
INTO THIS MORNING. LOW LEVEL WIND SHEAR WILL DEVELOP OVER KOTH
AND KRBG AS WINDS INCREASE ALOFT. TERRAIN WILL BECOME OBSCURED
EARLY TODAY AS LOWER CLOUDS AND PRECIPITATION DEVELOP AT THE
COAST AND SPREAD INLAND TO THE CASCADES THIS AFTERNOON. WINDS
WILL DIMINISH BY THIS EVENING. AREAS OF MVFR CIGS WILL DEVELOP AT
THE SAME TIME...MOSTLY ALONG THE COAST AND IN THE UMPQUA BASIN.
/SPILDE
&&
.MARINE...UPDATED 210 PM PST TUE 01 MAR 2016...A COLD FRONT WILL
MOVE THROUGH TODAY. SOUTH WINDS WILL INCREASE TO WIDESPREAD GALES
TODAY. THERE WILL ALSO BE AN AREA OF STORM FORCE WINDS NORTH OF
CAPE BLANCO THIS MORNING INTO EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. THE PATTERN WILL REMAIN ACTIVE
THROUGH THE REST OF THIS WEEK AND INTO NEXT WEEK WITH WET AND
WINDY FRONTS MOVING ONSHORE EVERY 24 TO 36 HOURS...AND POSSIBLE
GALE FORCE WINDS ABOUT EVERY OTHER DAY. SEAS COULD EXCEED 20 FEET
ON FRIDAY...AND THE STRONGEST STORM ACTIVITY IS LIKELY TO BE ON OR
ABOUT NEXT WEEKEND. /SPILDE
&&
.MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 10 PM PST THIS
EVENING FOR ORZ030-031.
HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 7 AM THIS MORNING TO 4 PM PST THIS
AFTERNOON FOR ORZ021-022.
WIND ADVISORY FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 4 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON
FOR ORZ026.
WIND ADVISORY FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 10 PM PST THIS EVENING
FOR ORZ029.
CA...WIND ADVISORY FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 10 PM PST THIS EVENING
FOR CAZ084.
WIND ADVISORY FROM 7 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM PST THIS EVENING
FOR CAZ081-082.
HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 10 PM PST THIS
EVENING FOR CAZ085.
PACIFIC COASTAL WATERS...GALE WATCH FROM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING FOR
PZZ350-356-370-376.
STORM WARNING FROM 7 AM THIS MORNING TO 1 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON
FOR PZZ350-370.
HAZARDOUS SEAS WARNING FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 4 AM PST
WEDNESDAY FOR PZZ350-370.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 7 AM PST THIS MORNING FOR
PZZ350-356-370-376.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS UNTIL 4 AM PST EARLY
THIS MORNING FOR PZZ350-356-370-376.
GALE WARNING UNTIL 1 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON FOR PZZ370.
GALE WARNING UNTIL 1 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON FOR PZZ350-356-376.
HAZARDOUS SEAS WARNING FROM 7 AM THIS MORNING TO 4 AM PST
WEDNESDAY FOR PZZ356-376.
FJB/FJB/DWThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Flynn Prairie RAWS recorded gusts exceeding 57 mph continuously during this interval. The peak gust was 63 mph recorded at 01/0813 PST and 01/1013 PST.
The Port Orford NOS-NWLON recorded several gusts exceeding 57 mph during this interval. The peak gust was 62 mph recorded at 01/0918 PST.
The Squaw Peak RAWS recorded a gust to 87 mph at 01/1039 PST.
The Coffee Pot Flat RAWS recorded a gust to 59 mph at 01/1144 PST and a gust to 62 mph at 01/1244 PST.
The Calimus RAWS recorded a gust to 63 mph at 01/1300 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, March 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: 613546, 613545, 613769, 613772, 613771.