A strong storm system out of the Pacific is toppling trees and power lines with damaging winds of approximately 80 mph, triggering heavy rain and flooding in regions of Northern California to Western Washington.
The storm had left tens of thousands without power in Oregon and Washington. The National Weather Service on Saturday had issued a hurricane-force wind warning until early evening for coastal waters from Cascade Head, Ore., to Florence, Ore. Gusts of 70 mph to 80 mph battered the Oregon coast, and reached 45 mph to 55 mph in Portland.
As per meteorologists, a remnant of Typhoon Songda out of the Western Pacific, can be one of the 10 worst windstorms to lash the area. Conditions are expected to linger through Tuesday, bringing damaging wind gusts to the higher population centers of the I-5 corridor in the Pacific Northwest, including Seattle and Portland.
Heavy downpour was foreseen near the coast and below snow level in the coastal ranges, Olympics and Cascades through the weekend, bringing another 8 to 12 inches of rain in some areas. The system was also expected to bring high elevation snow to the Sierra Nevada, the Cascades and the Northern Rockies, with heavy snow possible in central Idaho.
According to the National Weather Service, exposed areas of picturesque Highway 101, which embraces the coast from Northern California to Seattle, were mostly in peril.
A high-surf warning was issued on Saturday for the northern and central Oregon coasts, witnessing that seas could build to around 30 feet by afternoon. Moreover, potential sneaker waves are also likely to run farther up the beach than regular waves and therefore could easily knock people and pets off their feet and drag them out to sea.
On Thursday night, sustained winds of 73 mph with gusts to 103 mph at Cape Meares, about 85 miles west of Portland was reported.
Image Credit: nbcnews.com
