Blizzard — Siskiyou Mountains & Southern Oregon Cascades, Oregon

2019-11-26 to 2019-11-27 · Siskiyou Mountains & Southern Oregon Cascades, Oregon

Event narrative

No road closures were reported, but with significant snow and very strong winds, blizzard conditions did develop in this zone. The Squaw Peak RAWS recorded gusts exceeding 74 mph continuously from 26/1640 PST until 26/2139 PST. The peak gust was 90 mph, recorded at 26/1839 PST.

Wider weather episode

A major winter storm caused by a rapidly deepening bomb cyclone brought heavy snow and high winds to the area, creating blizzard-like conditions at times. The cyclone moved onshore near the Oregon/California border with central pressure near 971 mb and then moved east-northeast through the area. Numerous accidents and road closures, including Interstate 5, were reported. Around 8000 customers lost power due to downed power lines. The surface pressure recorded in Medford was the second lowest ever recorded at that station.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 860235. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.