From Grays Harbor Emergency Management: The National Weather Service in Seattle has issued a High Wind Watch for the North & Central Coast of Washington from this evening into Tuesday. All areas of Grays Harbor County could see strong gusting winds from two separate events. Heavy rain will accompany the wind events.

Event Timeline:

1.     Rain and wind increase after midnight ahead of the Warm front. Strong southeasterly winds 30-40 mph gusting to 60 mph will occur late tonight through mid Tuesday morning along the coast.

Political doubleheader today: First, a 1p.m. “study session,” with EMS and library levies up for discussion. Then, the 6 p.m. council meeting, with the highlights being: jail agreement with Wapato; proposed 29 cent, two-year library levy; proposed 50 cent, six-year EMS levy.

From Mayor Crystal Dingler, who normally keeps her Tuesdays open to chat with anyone who wants to stop by: “I will be attending a class all day tomorrow, Tuesday, Jan. 24, so will miss my day to meet with the public. I’d like to ask anyone who was considering coming in to come the following Tuesday. If the matter is urgent, they may call Julie Minsker to schedule a regular

Steve Hill photo of a Blue Heron, taken yesterday:

From the Daily World story on 57-36 Lady Hyaks victory: North Beach needed the first half to find its groove before overrunning visiting Ocosta in this Pacific League contest on Thursday night.

The Hyaks (8-0, 15-1) led 24-19 at the half, then picked up their offensive groove against the Wildcats (0-7, 7-8).

“It took us a little bit to get warmed up a bit,” North Beach head coach Brett Mackey said. “In the second half, we executed better offensively. Defensively, we were up and down. As a whole, with the (weather) layoff, I was pretty pleased with the way we played as a team.”

Dramikha Skaar and Iyah Bastian led the Hyaks with 14 points each. Skaar added 10 rebounds for a double-double night and Wakeena DeLaCruz scored 11 and swiped six.

From Grays Harbor County Emergency Management: A High Wind Watch will be in effect from 10am – 10pm today. Rain showers through the day with a possibility of 1-2” of snowfall in higher elevations this afternoon.  This storm may have sustained winds of 29-35 mph gusting 40-55 mph along the Coast. Gusty winds can snap tree branches and cause power outages. Grays Harbor County Emergency Management is urging all citizens along the coast to prepare for possible power outages.

From the National Weather Service: HIGH SURF ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR THE CENTRAL COAST UNTIL 3 PM MONDAY…* SEAS MAINLY 16 TO 20 FEET. *LARGE WAVES WILL CONTINUE TO BATTER THE BEACHES THROUGH MONDAY…. RIP CURRENTS AND LOCALIZED BEACH EROSION CAN BE EXPECTED FROM THE LARGE WAVES. IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO FISH OR OBSERVE WAVES FROM ROCKS DURING HIGH SURF CONDITIONS. UNWARY BEACH WALKERS CAN BE CAUGHT OFF GUARD AS WAVES SUDDENLY RACE FARTHER UP THE BEACH THAN NORMAL

Looks like Lorraine T. and Tony Byers are the low/high score leaders in the North Coaster Quiz (see earlier entry). Deadline is midnight tonight to enter your scores. Prizes to high/low scores.

Extra credit question:

My yard art is:

a) one or more float(s)

b) one or more crab pot(s)

c) Sasquatch or other wood carving

d) the sign “Property Protected by Smith & Wesson”

Scoring: a) 5 points; b) 10 points; c) 25 points; d) -50 points

Awe-inspiring photos of the late-afternoon sky from Emma Davis, who adds some great photography notes: There were lots of really cool looking clouds today, must be from the storms blowing through. The two dark sunset photos were taken at sunset as the sun was disappearing behind the next wave of storm clouds. To deal with the overwhelming brightness of the sun and preserve cloud detail, I used a really short exposure and a variable density filter. The clouds had this wonderful rainbow fringe effect around them – red-yellow-green-blue. I think it must be because they are heavily laden with moisture and the water droplets were refracting the light. This effect was much more visible (more greens and blues) in person, but the short exposure and the filters heavily emphasized the red end of the spectrum.

Hearty souls out last night looking for the razor clams, and conditions should be “challenging” again today for Part II. Low tide around 5:30 p.m.