An incoming front brought high winds to one station in south central Oregon.
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The episode as NWS MFR wrote it up.
An incoming front brought high winds to one station 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 May 18, 1:37 PM PST, 2 hours 2 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Medford OR
237 PM PDT Wed May 18 2022
.SYNOPSIS...A front will move through southern Oregon and northern
California this evening bringing some gusty winds and some cooler
weather to the area. Then, a ridge of high pressure will bring our
first thermal trough that we have seen for a while with conditions
turning drier and warmer beginning this weekend.
Potential Impacts:
*Breezy to Windy conditions east of the Cascades this afternoon
and evening may make travel difficult for high profile vehicles.
*Dust may be picked up over some of our dry lake beds and could
reduce visibilities this afternoon and evening.
*Overnight low temperatures have trended slightly lower for Friday
morning. Frost formation may be possible west of the Cascades.
*Periods of breezy to strong winds and steep seas possible
through the weekend. See the marine discussion for more details.
&&
.SHORT TERM...Tonight 5/18 through Friday night 5/20...Satellite
imagery is showing cloud cover across most of southern Oregon and
parts of western Siskiyou County. Meanwhile, the RADAR is showing
some returns, although it is unclear whether it is virga or if the
rain is reaching the ground. This is all part of a frontal
boundary that will be moving through the area this evening into
tonight. The biggest consideration with this frontal boundary will
be the winds ahead of the front, especially east of the Cascades.
Ensembles, including the NBM, as well as statistical guidance are
showing some gusty winds across the Summer Lake Area, Winter Rim,
and other portions of Lake County. A wind advisory remains in
effect for these areas through 2AM. Please see the NPWMFR for more
details.
Conditions will also gradually get cooler tomorrow as we remain
somewhat unsettled. Gradients--in particular the Medford to
Redding gradient is showing between 7.5 and 10.5 which is
relatively significant. If we were expecting south winds, we would
likely be issuing an advisory for the Shasta Valley for tomorrow
afternoon as well. That being said, winds are from the north, and
while breezy for areas east of the Cascades and for the Shasta
Valley, that pattern is not one that generally produces strong
winds. So have gone with more breezy winds in those areas.
Early in the week, we have been zeroing in on Friday as a
potential for frost formation on the West Side. Those temperatures
have been trending lower, and the NBM is now showing a 46% chance
for temperatures at the Medford Airport to be at or lower than 36
degrees-- which could promote frost formation. Rural areas in the
Rogue and Illinois Valley should prepare for frost formation at
this rate, and valleys in Siskiyou County may also consider the
possibility for frost/freeze conditions. Will continue to monitor
the temperatures, but held off on the frost advisory (since we
will have tomorrow to prepare) for now.
Then, conditions will begin to dry out on and warm up beginning
Friday as the upper low responsible for all of this moves away
from the area. For more information on the warming and drying
trend, see the long term discussion. -Schaaf
.LONG TERM...Saturday, May 21 through Wednesday, May 25 2022...
The upper trough will gradually shift east and an upper ridge will
nudge inland Saturday into Sunday. Meanwhile, a surface thermal
trough will persist along the coast, with breezy to gusty north to
northeast winds. With this pattern, expect mainly dry weather,
outside of a few showers possible on Saturday over the mountains
from the Cascades east with the exiting trough. There will also be a
trend towards much warmer temperatures for inland areas. At the
coast, a mild warm up is expected across southern Curry County as
well. Breezy winds out of the north are expected in the afternoons
and evenings.
Early next week, ensembles indicate the upper ridge is likely to
remain in place with a front moving over the ridge Tuesday and
Wednesday. Models continue to show this will bring a slight chance
(15-20%) for light precipitation, mainly across portions of Coos and
northern Douglas Counties as well a into the South-Central Oregon
Cascades. However, the strength of the ridge will be a factor in how
much, if any, precipitation occurs as well as how warm temperatures
are during this period. -CC
&&
.AVIATION...18/18Z TAFs...Over the coastal waters, along the
coast, and in the Umpqua Basin...Areas of MVFR cigs/vsbys in low
clouds and rain with higher terrain obscured. Local IFR ceilings
and/or visibility are possible, especially north of Cape Blanco.
Precipitation will diminish this afternoon/evening, but the
MVFR cigs/vsbys and terrain obscuration will persist into Thursday
morning. Over the remainder of the area...VFR conditions will
persist through Thursday morning, but some higher terrain will be
obscured, especially from the Cascades west. Winds will be gusty
east of the Cascades this afternoon and evening. -Spilde
&&
.MARINE...Updated 200 PM PDT Wednesday 18 May 2022...Steep seas
persist into this evening, mainly north of Cape Arago. Offshore high
pressure and a thermal trough near the coast will return Thursday,
strengthen through Friday evening, then weaken Friday night into
Saturday. This will bring gusty north winds and steep seas to the
waters. Gale force winds and very steep seas are possible south of
Cape Ferrelo Friday afternoon into Saturday morning. -Spilde
&&
.MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...Wind Advisory until 2 AM PDT Thursday for ORZ030-031.
CA...None.
Pacific Coastal Waters...
Gale Watch from Friday afternoon through late Friday night for
PZZ356-376.
Small Craft Advisory from 11 AM Thursday to 2 PM PDT Friday for
PZZ350-356-370-376.
Small Craft Advisory until 11 PM PDT this evening for
PZZ350-370.PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
422 PM PDT WED MAY 18 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0417 PM NON-TSTM WND GST WSW SILVER LAKE 43.13N 121.05W
05/18/2022 M45.00 MPH LAKE OR TRAINED SPOTTER
SPOTTER REPORTS COMMON WIND GUSTS OF 40 MPH. PEAK WIND
GUST OF 45 MPH.
&&
MARC.SPILDEThe 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 58 mph at 18/1638 PST.
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, May 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: 1015039.