An incoming front brought high winds to the coast, interior ridges, and east of the Cascades.
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.
An incoming front brought high winds to the coast, interior ridges, and east of the Cascades.
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 9, 9:08 AM PST, 3 hours 52 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Medford OR
908 AM PST Fri Dec 9 2022
.DISCUSSION...Radar imagery is showing some precipitation
beginning to move inland in southern Oregon and northern
California. Snow levels are low this morning, but should rise
above low pass levels today with the onset of precipitation. In
general, the forecast looks well enough on track, and am not
making any changes. For road conditions, check tripcheck.com or
the Quickmap from Caltrans before you go. And for more information
on the forecast, please read the previous discussion below.
-Hermansen/Schaaf
&&
.MARINE...Updated 800 AM PST Friday 9 December 2022...Moderate
northwest swell will maintain steep seas through this morning. A
very strong front will affect the region later this morning,
bringing storm force south winds and dangerous, very steep and very
high seas to the waters through tonight. Winds diminish Saturday
morning and become westerly but very steep, short period seas will
continue. Heavy northwest swell builds into the waters Saturday
afternoon and night, bringing very steep, swell dominated seas to
the area. Seas gradually lower Sunday into Monday morning but are
expected to remain high and steep. Seas then subside Monday
afternoon into Tuesday with relatively light winds. -CC/BR-y
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /Issued 345 AM PST Fri Dec 9 2022/
DISCUSSION...The latest satellite image is showing the next storm
already starting to take shape over the eastern Pacific. Three main
impacts are likely from this storm: Strong winds, moderate to heavy
snow, and heavy rain. Each of these impacts will be addressed below.
WINDS- Winds will ramp up along the coast during the day as a strong
warm front approaches the coast. Strong winds are are likely over
the exposed areas along the coast, mainly around and south of Cape
Blanco. Guidance shows pressure gradients between Arcata and North
Bend are around 10 mb which almost always results in high wind along
the coast. A High Wind Warming remains in effect for exposed areas
above 1500 feet primarily from Cape Blanco south. Moderate to strong
winds are also expected in the Shasta Valley, with the strongest
winds near Weed. Meanwhile we could experience gusty southeast winds
in the Rogue Valley, especially from about Phoenix south to Ashland,
although Medford could also experience gusty southeast winds late
Friday morning into Friday evening. Moderate to strong winds are
also likely east of the Cascades with 700mb winds between 60-70 kts
moving over the Cascades later tonight, and peaking out between 75-
80 kts Saturday morning. High Wind Warnings and Wind Advisories
remain in effect for the areas noted above. Please see NPWMFR for
more details. Note: We currently have a wind advisory for only the
eastern half of Lake County. However, we are also expecting snow at
the same time that strong winds are occuring and the details on the
winds will be addressed in the winter weather products. Winds along
the coast, Shasta Valley and south end of the Rogue Valley will
diminish late tonight into Saturday morning. Winds will remain
moderate to strong east of the Cascades into Saturday morning, then
they are expected to gradually diminish Saturday afternoon from
northeast to southeast. Therefore places like Modoc County could
experience moderate to strong winds into Saturday afternoon. Winds
should not longer be a concern for all areas Saturday night as the
upper trough moves into the area.
SNOW- Snow will also be a concern, especially along the Cascades
into Siskiyou county and northwest Modoc County. These areas will
get moderate to heavy snow from this evening through at least
Saturday afternoon and there's a good chance for snow fall rates to
exceed an inch per hour at times. Note: The Mount Shasta area (which
includes I-5 south of Weed to Dunsmuir) and highway 89 are at
highest risk of experiencing heavy snow with snowfall rates between
1-2 inches an hour tonight into Saturday morning. Highway 97 towards
Weed is also at risk for moderate to heavy snow with snowfall rates
pushing to an inch per hour tonight into Saturday morning. It's also
worth noting visibilities in these areas could also be reduced at
times to a 1/2 mile or less. Moderate to heavy snow is also likely
along the Cascades and Siskiyous along with strong winds, especially
over the exposed areas, and its' not out of the question snowfall
rates could exceed an inch per hour along the Mt. Ashland Ski road,
highways 230 and 138 near Diamond Lake and highway 62 towards Crater
Lake. Highway 97 will also be impacted by a combination of moderate
to heavy snow and moderate to strong winds. Storm total snow further
east of the Cascades (east of highway 97) will be less, but
significant impacts are still expected mainly due to visibilities
being reduced to a 1/2 mile or less and could result in brief
whiteout conditions tonight into Saturday morning. Siskiyou Summit
will also get significant snow tonight into Saturday morning with up
to a 12 inches possible between this evening through Saturday
afternoon. Because of the above mentioned, this is likely to cause
hazardous travel conditions. Therefore it's highly recommended that
folks stay home and avoid traveling, especially from late this
afternoon through Saturday morning for the areas noted above. Winter
storm Warning and Winter Weather Advisories are in effect for the
areas noted above. Please see WSWMFR for more details.
RAIN- The heaviest precipitation is expected to arrive late this
afternoon along the coast and tonight inland. Because were expecting
gusty winds in the Rogue and Shasta Valleys Friday, these areas will
experience downsloping which could result in dry weather Friday
afternoon, with precipitation amounts limited Friday evening as the
front gets closer to these areas. It will be a different story for
the coast, coastal mountains, Cascades and Siskiyou County. 24 hour
storm total precipitation is expected to be between 4 and 5 inches
for the coastal mountains in southwest Oregon, and south coast, 1.5
to 2.0 inches for the north coast, 2 to 3 inches along the Cascades
and 3.50 to 4.50 inches from western through southern Siskiyou
County. Because of the expected high rainfall totals over the
coastal mountains and south coast, mud and rockslides could be a
concern, especially along highway 101.
Winds and precipitation will will diminish late Saturday afternoon
into Saturday night as the upper trough approaches southeast Oregon.
However a colder air mass will move overhead with snow levels
lowering to around 2000 feet west of the Cascades. We aren't
expecting much, if any snow accumulation that low over the west
side, but there can still be a few to several inches of snow over
the mountains. The cold air mass could result in enough instability
for isolated thunderstorms over the waters and possibly the south
coast Saturday afternoon and evening. -Petrucelli
LONG TERM...The upper low will wobble southeastward over the area
Sunday and eventually into the Great Basin early next week. We'll
maintain a high probability (50-70%) of showers over the area
Sunday with only a minor bump in snow levels to around 2500 feet.
Shower chances gradually diminish Sunday night into Monday as the
low departs to the east. But, we'll have to watch for some wrap-
around moisture around the upper low.
Model consensus after Monday next week indicates an omega block
developing with upper ridging near the West Coast. This will mostly
result in a dry forecast for the area, but with chilly days and cold
to very cold nights, especially east of the Cascades -- we expect
widespread lows in the single digits over there with some typically
colder areas below zero. NBM continues to paint low chance PoPs
mostly west of the Cascades (and especially along the coast), likely
due to a system offshore shown to near the coast at mid-late week.
But, I have my doubts about how much influence it will have due to
the ridge and blocking pattern in place. Suspect these PoPs will
fall out of the forecast over time. As such, we can probably expect
fairly quiet weather, but with nightly low clouds/fog/freezing fog
in the valleys, that could last well into the day. -Spilde
AVIATION...09/06Z TAFs...Areas of MVFR cigs/vsbys in low clouds and
showers with higher terrain obscured and areas of IFR cigs/vsbys in
valley fog are expected through Friday morning. The IFR conditions
will clear by late Friday morning but a strong front will bring
another round of areas of MVFR cigs/vsbys in low clouds and
rain/snow along with high winds to the area beginning over the
coastal waters Friday morning and spreading over the rest of the
area Friday morning into Friday afternoon. LLWS will be a concern at
all local airports Friday. LIFR/IFR is expected in areas of moderate
to heavy snow Friday evening, such as in the Mount Shasta City area.
-CC
&&
.MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR... Winter Weather Advisory from 4 PM this afternoon to 4 PM PST
Saturday for ORZ029-030.
High Surf Warning until 4 AM PST Saturday for ORZ021-022.
High Wind Warning from 1 PM this afternoon to 4 AM PST Saturday
for ORZ021-022.
Wind Advisory from 1 PM this afternoon to 4 AM PST Saturday for
ORZ026.
Winter Storm Warning from 4 PM this afternoon to 4 PM PST
Saturday for ORZ027-028.
Winter Storm Warning from 4 PM this afternoon to 4 PM PST
Saturday for ORZ029-030.
Wind Advisory from 4 PM this afternoon to 4 PM PST Saturday for
ORZ031.
Winter Weather Advisory from 4 PM this afternoon to 4 PM PST
Saturday for ORZ031.
CA...Winter Storm Warning from 4 PM this afternoon to 4 PM PST
Saturday above 3000 feet for CAZ080.
High Wind Warning from 4 PM this afternoon to 7 AM PST Saturday
for CAZ081.
Winter Storm Warning from 4 PM this afternoon to 4 PM PST
Saturday above 3000 feet for CAZ081.
Winter Storm Warning from 4 PM this afternoon to 10 PM PST
Saturday for CAZ082-083.
Winter Weather Advisory from 4 PM this afternoon to 4 PM PST
Saturday for CAZ084.
Winter Storm Warning from 4 PM this afternoon to 4 AM PST Sunday
for CAZ085.
PACIFIC COASTAL WATERS...Small Craft Advisory until 10 AM PST this
morning for PZZ350-356-370-376.
Storm Warning until 4 AM PST Saturday for
PZZ350-356-370-376.
Hazardous Seas Warning from 4 AM to 4 PM PST
Saturday for PZZ350-356-370-376.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Port Orford reports peak wind of 55 MPH with Gust of 74 MPH at 0130 on 12/10.
K4S1 Gold Beach reports peak wind of 40 MPH with gust of 68 MPH at 0055 to 0115 on 12/10.
Acorn Woman Peak RAWS reported peak wind of 63 MPH with gust of 87 MPH at 0239 on 12/10. Also, Parker Mountain RAWS with a peak wind gust of 59 MPH at 0240 on 12/10.
Sustained wind of 42 MPH with peak gust of 50 MPH measured 2 NE of Talent around 0300 on 12/10. Peak gust on evening of 12/9 was 45 MPH.
Summit RAWS reported 44 MPH with a gust of 65 MPH at 0633 on 12/10. Also, Valley Falls MP121 at 39 MPH with a gust of 62 MPH at 0510. Paisley with a gust of 58 MPH at 0050. Christmas Valley 38 MPH with a gust of 58 MPH at 0530.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, December 2022
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: 1068591, 1068594, 1068595, 1068596, 1068597.