PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — While the Pacific Northwest’s recent bomb cyclone dropped inches of rain and caused some serious stormy weather across the Pacific Northwest on Nov. 19 and 20, the real power of the storm was raging offshore along high-traffic shipping channels.
University of Washington professor of atmospheric sciences Cliff Mass told KOIN 6 News that the conditions at the center of the cyclone were roughly strong enough to tie the November record for the strongest storm ever recorded in the coastal waters of the Pacific Northwest. KOIN 6 Meteorologist Josh Cozart reports that — at its peak — the center of the storm produced the wind speeds of a Category-4.
“A Category-4 storm can see anywhere from 130-156 mph winds,” Cozart said. “It's possible that our bomb cyclone saw winds close to 130 mph, but the center of the low was far off to sea, meaning that coastal buoys weren't able to measure the wind speeds closes to the center of the storm.”
A U.S. Coast Guard District 13 spokesperson told KOIN that the hazardous ocean conditions caused officials to completely shut down all river-bar crossings from the Quillayute River in Washington to Humboldt Bay, Calif., due to hazardous conditions, which included gale-force winds. USCG District 13 did not respond to any distressed vessels while the closures were in place. The USCG lifted the river-bar closures on Thursday morning.
“During the storm, river currents were recorded moving as fast as 1,700 feet per second,” the USCG spokesperson said. “This morning, all coastal stations conducted a first-light assessment of the bar conditions, and I am able to report that all closures have now been lifted, allowing passage for vessels.”
The temporary closure included the Columbia River Bar, where Columbia River Bar pilots like Dan Jordan spend their days safely steering cargo ships and tankers hundreds of feet long across the Columbia River Bar. The gateway between the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean is known as one of the most dangerous continuously navigated stretches of water in the U.S., the Columbia River Bar Pilots say. Since 1792, the waterway has claimed approximately 2,000 vessels and 700 lives, earning it the nickname “the graveyard of the Pacific.”
“All Bar Pilots had a previous career as captains of ships at sea and understand their challenges, starting with the exhaustion of living in a room that is rolling 20 degrees or more,” Jordan said. “They are tired when they arrive and are grateful to be in the river for a good night's sleep.”
Jordan shared footage of ships piloting the Columbia River bar in the days before Tuesday's storm. The U.S. Coast Guard also shared videos of vessels navigating rough seas near Cape Disappointment, Wash. prior to the storm. The choppy conditions seen in the videos aren't nearly as rough as the seas on Tuesday night, Jordan said. The camera used in the River Bar Pilot footage, he added, uses a mount that adjusts with the ship, softening the movement the ship is actually experiencing.
