Arctic storms: How scientists are improving forecasts of dangerous polar lows In partnership with Thursday, April 8th 2021, 10:45 am - Polar lows are particularly challenging to forecast due to their small size and short lifetime, and many questions remain unanswered. Norway’s coastal communities are familiar with polar lows, but they often go unnoticed in Canada. Short-lived, but intense and hard to forecast, polar lows can cause considerable damage with gale-force winds and heavy snowfall. On Feb. 28, the Norwegian Meteorological Institute warned populations along the coast of Finnmark of an incoming polar low. One week later, another polar low threatened Norwegians, this time near Trondheim.