This winter has been a winter with relatively few strong Pacific cyclones hitting our shores.
One reason for this is the persistent La Nina morph, with high pressure over the eastern Pacific; This model is not favorable for good tornado formation (development of low-pressure systems) off our coast.
But conditions will change late Saturday as a fairly powerful storm approaches the northern Oregon coast.
To illustrate this for you, here is the sea level pressure forecast at 10 p.m. Saturday. An impressive low pressure center (cyclonic) lies just off the northern coast of Oregon, with an intense pressure gradient (difference) to the south and southwest of the low center. You’ll note a huge pressure change along the Oregon coast, a change in pressure that will produce 40-70 mph gusts along the coast.
A closer look at the storm forecast 3 hours early reveals a classic oceanic storm structure. The map below shows the forecast sea level pressure and wind gusts at 7 p.m. Saturday.
So if you’re looking to experience a good hit, head to Oregon on a Saturday and find a hotel on the beach. You fall asleep to cover the storm. Sounds great to me.
And then there’s the rain. Hurricane Oregon will cause moderate rain in the area late Saturday and Sunday, with cumulative totals through 5 p.m. Sunday shown below. Up to several inches in the mountains. Heavy rain east of Washington and down to northern California.
But the rain hasn’t stopped yet. A river with moderate atmospheric subtropical humidity will reach our shores on Monday, as illustrated by the atmospheric humidity map shown below (at 2 p.m. Monday)
More rain will be expected as a result, with the total for the 48 hours ending at 5 a.m. Wednesday shown below. North Cascade and Olympic were hit pretty hard (up to 3-5 inches).
The weather mode has changed and wetter/rainstorm conditions will be the rule.
