NEWPORT, Ore.  — Back-to-back Pacific storm systems, including a moderate atmospheric river, will hammer the central Oregon coast with gusty winds, heavy rain and towering swells through the weekend, the National Weather Service warned Friday.

The first system is already stirring rough conditions along Lincoln County, but the brunt will hit Saturday with a deep surface low-pressure system driving southwest winds of 20 to 30 mph and gusts up to 60 mph — enough for a high wind warning from morning until 11 p.m.

“This is on the lower end of a high wind warning, but with leaves still on the trees early in the season, they are a factor,” said Lee Picard, lead meteorologist at the NWS office in Portland. “The leaves make it easier for the wind to grab the trees and take them down,” potentially snarling roads and power lines with outages likely.

Marine forecasts call for hazardous seas, with combined swells of 14 to 15 feet building to near 20 feet Saturday atop wind-driven waves up to 25 feet, prompting a hazardous seas warning through early Sunday. Coastal infrastructure is built to withstand such gales, but officials urged securing outdoor items.

Rain totals could reach 3 to 4 inches along the coast through Sunday, with isolated spots seeing 5 to 6 inches from the atmospheric river’s moisture plume. Rivers are running low, minimizing flood risks, though ponding is possible in low-lying areas.

The stormy pattern aligns with emerging La Niña conditions, driven by cooler-than-average Pacific Ocean temperatures — the opposite of El Niño’s warmer waters. La Niña winters are typically slightly wetter for the Pacific Northwest, and forecasters expect the pattern to hold through February 2026. Since 1950, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center has recorded 27 El Niño events and 25 La Niña episodes, each lasting at least five consecutive three-month seasons.