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For a certain type of foolhardy soul, the ocean beckons in a storm. But pay heed to the level-headed scientists at the Woodley Island office of the National Weather Service, who urge you to resist that siren song. Yesterday, the office issued a high surf warning, forecasting waves of 25 to 35 feet on our region’s beaches.

“Powerful waves can rush far up beaches, wash over rocks & jetties & erode away coastal bluffs,” the office cautions. “Stay back from the ocean this weekend.”

Skeptical? Well, in order to drive home the power of the misleadingly named Pacific, the Outpost periodically likes to repost the video below, from 2020, which shows how one moment you may be blithely sipping coffee and gazing at the froth, and the next you’re flotsam in the roiling sea.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that “the biggest waves in years” are forecast all along the West Coast, from Santa Barbara north to Vancouver Island.

One more warning to be aware of: “Weekend rain will make for hazardous driving conditions, especially during the morning commute on Friday,” NWS’s Eureka office posted on Tuesday. “There is also an increased risk of ponding water in areas of poor drainage during heavy rainfall and potential for rock slides in steep terrain.”

Stay safe out there, folks!