A polar low which developed off of California and was mentioned in a post yesterday, has made landfall in southern Oregon after brushing the northern California coastline. There were many reports of winds in excess of tropical storm force in association with the system in California and Oregon. A short term forecast released a few hours prior to landfall by the NWS office in Eureka, CA, outlined the expected impacts from the low:
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SHORT TERM FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EUREKA CA
703 AM PST SUN FEB 24 2008
.NOW..
THROUGH 900 AM…A STRONG…BUT A SLOWLY WEAKENING LOW PRESSURE
SYSTEM LOCATED 60 MILES OFFSHORE OF CAPE MENDOCINO…WILL TRACK
NORTHWEST AT 25 MPH. THIS MOTION WILL BRING THE CENTER OF THE LOW
ONSHORE NEAR CRESCENT CITY BY NOON. ROTATING BANDS OF MODERATE TO
OCCASIONALLY HEAVY SHOWERS AND GUSTY SOUTHEAST WINDS OF 20 TO 30
MPH WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE REDWOOD COAST THIS MORNING.
LIGHTER SHOWERS…BUT VERY WINDY CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST ALONG THE
MENDOCINO COUNTY COAST THROUGH LATE MORNING. SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST
WINDS OF 25 TO 40 MPH SHOULD BE EXPECTED…WITH ADDITIONAL POWER
OUTAGES AND DOWNED TREES LIKELY THROUGH NOON TIME.
LARGE AND DANGEROUS SURF WILL CONTINUE ALONG NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA
COAST ALL DAY. WALKS ON BEACHES OR JETTIES IS HIGHLY DISCOURAGED.
OVER INLAND AREAS…A SNOW ADVISORY REMAINS POSTED THROUGH MID
AFTERNOON FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 3500 FEET. IN THE COLDER VALLEYS
OF TRINITY COUNTY SNOW LEVELS WILL HOLD AROUND 2000 FEET THIS
MORNING BEFORE RISING BY MIDDAY. MORNING COMMUTERS ALONG HIGHWAY
299 EAST OF BURNT RANCH SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR SLICK ROADWAYS.
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One would think this was a tropical storm based on its impacts if it wasn’t for the snow that occurred with this at higher elevations!
Below are two satellite shots and one radar shot of the polar low prior to landfall, when it still had an impressive structure. An eye like feature is apparent in all imagery, and the low bears a striking resemblance to a tropical cyclone.
Click to enlarge radar image.
