A strong low offshore brought southwest wind waves that combined with a long period west swell to produce sneaker waves along the southern Oregon coast.
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The episode as NWS MFR wrote it up.
A strong low offshore brought southwest wind waves that combined with a long period west swell to produce sneaker waves along the southern Oregon coast.
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 24, 1:51 PM PST, 2 hours 9 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Medford OR 251 PM PDT Mon Mar 24 2025 .DISCUSSION...Occasional high clouds are the only interruption to clear skies across northern California and southern Oregon today as an upper level ridge remains in place. With high pressure continuing, fog may return to some west side valleys tonight. Given that today's fog did not linger into the day, anything that develops tonight into Tuesday morning is not likely to remain in place. This supports the chances of additional warming across the area, with record high temperatures expected to be threatened for inland areas. Medford's current record high of 80 degrees (1997) will be up against a forecast high of 81. Roseburg's record high is currently 73 (2015), with a forecast high of 79 degrees. Klamath Falls also has a current record of 73 (1960) and a high of 74 degrees possible for tomorrow. Coastal areas may escape record highs, but still look to be 5-10 degrees above seasonal averages. Slight chances (5-10%) of thunderstorms are in the forecast given some instability present over Douglas and western Siskiyou counties. An absence of a forcing mechanism and low to moderate atmospheric moisture are keeping these chances low. The pattern changes again on Wednesday as the upper ridge moves eastward and a trough takes its place. Daytime highs will cool from Tuesday's levels, but remain above seasonal norms. An occluded front will bring the first round of activity on Wednesday afternoon. Showers are expected to start (80-100% chances) west of and over the Cascades on Wednesday afternoon, with the highest rainfall amounts over southern coastal ranges. Thee mountains are forecast to get up to 0.75 inches of rain on Wednesday, with lower amounts in other west side areas. Thunderstorm chances increase (20-25%) over Douglas County on Wednesday evening, while slight chances (10-15%) are present over Lake, Modoc, and western Siskiyou counties. Snow levels of 8000 feet or higher will likely make snow a non-issue on Wednesday. Southerly winds will increase as the low pressure system draws near, bringing gusty winds to the Oregon coast, the Shasta Valley, and east side areas. The Shasta Valley and areas of east side terrain may see advisory level winds on Wednesday afternoon and evening. Showers continue overnight and increase on Thursday morning with an additional pulse of atmospheric moisture moving around the low. Coos, Curry, and Josephine counties will see the bulk of the precipitation on Thursday. Coastal mountains in Curry County are forecast to see 3 to 4 inches of rainfall, while over an inch of rainfall is forecast for coastal cities and into the Illinois Valley. Snow levels drop to 4000-4500 feet west of the Cascades and remain over 5000 feet to the east. Ample moisture and southwest flow aloft would allow for 12 to 24 inches of snowfall over remote peaks in western Siskiyou County peaks and over Mount Shasta. Little snow is expected elsewhere on Thursday, with 1 to 4 inches forecast along the Cascades and less than an inch of snowfall possible around Chemult and Winter Ridge. Additionally, gusty winds continue through the day and increase into the afternoon and evening. The Oregon coast north of Cape Blanco, Shasta Valley, and east side terrain will be considered for advisory or warning level winds, but there is enough uncertainty to hesitate on issuing anything at this point. Activity continues beyond Thursday, but with more uncertainty in outcomes. Showers continue through the day Friday, with activity moving farther east but expected precipitation amounts decreasing from Thursday. Gusty winds continue but would decrease into Friday evening. Activity looks to decrease Saturday and Sunday as a shortwave ridge passes over the area. Meteogram guidance suggests activity continuing Sunday afternoon and into next week, but with few clear patterns in the ensemble members and disagreements in deterministic imagery. Please stay tuned for additional details as the long-term picture comes in to more complete focus. -TAD && .AVIATION...24/18Z TAFs...VFR conditions under high pressure will prevail today. There will be a slight uptick in afternoon winds, but no impactful weather to aviation is expected through this evening. Patchy areas of LIFR fog/stratus are expected to return to the typical locations (Umpqua and Coquille Basins, Illinois and Klamath River Valleys) late this evening and overnight. Any lower conditions that develop will quickly erode Tuesday morning, with VFR prevailing thereafter. /BR-y && .MARINE...Updated 200 PM Monday, March 24, 2025...North winds will approach advisory levels from Cape Blanco to Gold Beach this afternoon and evening, but overall conditions should remain below advisory criteria. Winds ease on Tuesday, then quickly ramp up on Wednesday ahead of a strong cold front. Hazardous conditions are expected to return Wednesday into Thursday with southerly gales and very steep and very high seas possible. The outlook is for another similarly strong front in the latter portion of the weekend. /BR-y && .BEACH HAZARDS...Updated 200 PM Monday, March 24, 2025...Beaches along the southern Oregon coast will have a moderate risk for sneaker waves this afternoon through Tuesday morning. The highest risk will be for west facing beaches, especially during early to mid- morning on Tuesday. During this time, a west-northwest swell of 5 to 6 ft at 11 to 13 seconds is expected to combine with a long period west-northwest swell of 2 ft at 20 seconds building to 6 ft at 17 seconds. During Tuesday afternoon, the threat is anticipated to diminish with a decreasing swell period. Sneaker waves run up significantly farther on beaches than normal, including over rocks and jetties. These waves can suddenly knock people off of their feet and quickly pull them into the cold ocean waters, resulting in serious injury or death. Waves may also lift driftwood logs, trapping anyone caught underneath. NEVER turn your back on the ocean! && .MFR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OR...Beach Hazards Statement through Tuesday morning for ORZ021-022. CA...None. PACIFIC COASTAL WATERS...None. && TAD/MNF/TAD
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 sneakerwave. Local standard time, as filed.
A strong low offshore brought southwest wind waves that combined with a long period west swell to produce sneaker waves along the southern Oregon coast.
A strong low offshore brought southwest wind waves that combined with a long period west swell to produce sneaker waves along the southern Oregon coast.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, March 2025
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: 1254484, 1254485.