South Bend, Washington – The National Weather Service (NWS) in Portland has issued a high wind warning which is in effect from 1:00 p.m. this afternoon to 9:00 p.m. this evening. An unseasonably strong low pressure system will move northeast to Vancouver Island this afternoon and tonight bringing strong winds to the coast late this morning through this evening. South winds of 40 mph with gusts to around 60 mph are expected. Gusts to 70 mph are possible at exposed headlands and beaches. Precautionary/Preparedness Actions: A high wind warning means a hazardous high wind event is expected or occurring. Sustained wind speeds of at least 40 mph or gusts of 58 mph or more can lead to property damage. For the most up to date weather information from the NWS please visit http://www.weather.gov/portland. This page brings up all advisories, watches, and warnings for the southwest Washington area.

South Bend, Washington – The Pacific County Emergency Management Agency (PCEMA) gave a presentation on social networking at the Homeland Security Region 3 Committee meeting today. PCEMA Director “Tsunami Steph” and Deputy Director “Disaster Denise” presented an overview of social networking and web 2.0. They also highlighted the different applications currently used by PCEMA including Twitter, Facebook, BlogSpot, and YouTube. Each application was demonstrated to give an idea how social networking is helping PCEMA reach other audiences. If you would like to get involved in PCEMA’s social networking efforts you can visit PCEMA’s blog at www.pcema.blogspot.com, follow DisasterDenise and TsunamiSteph on Twitter, or “Like” the Pacific County Emergency Management Agency page on Facebook. For additional information or if you have questions, please contact the PCEMA office at (360) 875-9340.