Washington Sea Grant will host a king tide viewing event in Westport Saturday, Jan. 11, at the Westport viewing tower.

King tides are annual extreme high tides that occur when the moon is closest to Earth. The high tide in Westport Jan. 11 will reach 10.7 feet at 12:41 p.m.

“They are a dramatic feature of Washington winters — and are a glimpse of what our future in Western Washington may look like as sea levels rise,” read a Sea Grant statement.

During the event, experts will answer questions about king tides, sea level rise and how community members can participate in raising awareness and building resilience. Hot coffee and snacks will be provided.

Participants can help scientists, managers and planners visualize the changes coming to coastal Washington by taking photos on a smart phone and uploading them to the MyCoast app.

Event Information:

When: Saturday, Jan. 11, at noon.

Where: Westport Viewing Tower, by the Westport Marina at the intersection of Westhaven Drive and Cove Avenue.

If you can’t make the event, you can still experience king tides by finding the dates and times of predicted tides are on the Washington Sea Grant king tides calendar. Download the MyCoast app to help document king tides from anywhere in the state.

The King Tides program assists scientists, managers, planners and communities as they attempt to visualize and plan for the changes coming to coastal regions around Western Washington. The Washington Coastal Resilience Program is a group of state partners collaborating with local jurisdictions to help communities further prepare for future sea level rise. The group recently published a report documenting what shorelines will look like in the next 50 years. To find out how much sea levels could rise in a specific community, visit the Washington Coastal Resilience website.