An incoming front brought high winds to at least one location in south central Oregon.
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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 high winds to at least one location in 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 28, 1:29 PM PST, 4 hours 10 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Medford OR
229 PM PDT Sun Mar 28 2021
.DISCUSSION...
.Short Term...Tonight through Tuesday Night...Clouds have pushed
in over the coast, with precipitation expected to begin there
shortly, if it hasn't started already. Meanwhile, blowing dust is
streaming off of the dry lakebeds of Summer and Fossil Lakes, as
winds east of the Cascades have picked up considerably over the
past several hours. With winds starting a bit earlier than
thought, and dust already blowing, have pushed up the start of the
Wind Advisory, and have added more wording on dust and possible
lowered visibilities downwind of those lakebeds. More details on
these gusty winds can be found in the Wind Advisory at PDXNPWMFR.
The front responsible for the clouds, precipitation, wind, and
blowing dust will pass through the area quickly this evening and
tonight, and although precipitation is expected for most areas
along and west of the Cascades and north of the Siskiyous, amounts
will be light. Snow levels of over 5000 feet this afternoon will
drop sharply behind the front, getting as low as 2000 feet before
the bulk of precipitation ends tonight. Northwest flow behind the
front, along with the much cooler air aloft, should keep showers
ongoing through the night.
Showers will taper off by Monday morning, although some showers
could continue well into Monday afternoon as onshore winds
produce uplift along the western and northern slopes, particularly
along the coastal ranges, the Umpqua basin, and the Cascades and
Siskiyous. With cold air aloft, a wide range of precipitation
types are possible, including rain, snow, sleet, and graupel,
although amounts should be light, and warm ground temperatures
should prevent accumulations. All precipitation is expected to end
by late afternoon.
The rest of the short term is expected to be dry, and although
temperatures Monday will trend much cooler than today, daytime
highs will rebound quickly Tuesday. Nighttime lows, however,
should remain cool, and frost and freeze conditions are possible
all the way down to the coast Tuesday morning. Also of note, a
Chetco effect is expected Tuesday into Tuesday night, so
temperatures in the BRookings area are likely to trend much
warmer than normal as long as the northeast winds continue there.
.Long Term...Wednesday through Sunday...Models start in good
agreement with an upper ridge over the Pacific northwest and a
thermal trough deepened up to the Washington state coast. This
brings east winds across the east side, and a return of a good
deal above normal highs. This pattern remains into Thursday and
finally shifts Friday night when the ridge shifts east and an
upper trough brings the first weak front into the region. Models
then begin to diverge, but an unsettled pattern remains with
periods of precipitation remaining through much of next week.
-Sven
&&
.AVIATION...For the 28/18Z TAF Cycle...MVFR ceilings are expected to
increase to VFR as the front brings precipitation starting from the
central coast and then south into the evening. Inland, VFR
conditions will prevail inland through the afternoon before mountain
obscuration begins to affect the high terrain as the front nears.
The front's main impact to aviation operations are strong winds into
the evening, especially in high terrain and east of the Cascades.
Winds at Klamath Falls could have gusts close to 40 kts late this
afternoon and early evening, but confidence is not high of that
strong winds at this time. Sven
&&
.MARINE...Updated 220 PM PDT Sunday 28 Mar 2021....Light west to
southwest winds ahead of a front will abruptly shift to gusty north
to northwest winds behind the front this evening and tonight. Steep
northwest seas of 9 to 11 feet, dominated by a 10 to 11 second
period, will build into the waters from north to south late this
afternoon through tonight, and persist into Monday. A thermal trough
will set up Monday afternoon and Tuesday with gusty north winds and
steep to very steep seas developing across the waters. Monday
afternoon and night, gales will affect areas south of Cape Sebastian
and very steep seas are expected south of Bandon. Tuesday, winds and
seas will increase further and gales will affect areas from Port
Orford south with very steep seas across most all the waters.
Winds and seas should begin to subside on Wednesday as the thermal
trough pattern becomes disrupted and weakens. -CC
&&
.MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...Wind Advisory until 3 AM PDT Monday for ORZ030-031.
CA...Wind Advisory until 3 AM PDT Monday for CAZ085.
Pacific Coastal Waters...Gale Watch from late Monday night through Tuesday evening for
PZZ356-376.
Small Craft Advisory until 5 AM PDT Tuesday for PZZ350-356-370.
Hazardous Seas Watch from late Monday night through Tuesday
evening for PZZ350-356-370-376.
Gale Warning from 2 PM Monday to 5 AM PDT Tuesday for
PZZ356-376.
Hazardous Seas Warning from 2 PM Monday to 5 AM PDT Tuesday for
PZZ350-356-370-376.
Small Craft Advisory until 2 PM PDT Monday for PZZ376.PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
553 PM PDT SUN MAR 28 2021
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0527 PM NON-TSTM WND GST SILVER LAKE 43.13N 121.05W
03/28/2021 E45 MPH LAKE OR TRAINED SPOTTER
SOUTHWEST WINDS 40-45 MPH.
&&
JRSThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Summer Lake RAWS recorded a gust to 65 mph at 28/1838 PST, a gust to 59 mph at 28/2338 PST, and a gust to 58 mph at 29/0038 PST.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, March 2021
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: 940373.