BACK TO BACK STORMS BATTER BC

Posted on 12/07/2015 | About British Columbia

Powerful winds and rain pummelled British Columbia's coast as a series of storm systems moved across the province over the weekend. Strong winds and heavy rain are not unusual for BC's coast this time of year, but multiple systems coming back-to-back are, said Environment Canada.

"This is number three already," said Environment Canada Forecaster Greg Pearce. "And it looks like a stronger one on Tuesday that'll be quite a mild, wet and windy storm, and then it looks like another storm on Wednesday." Environment Canada issued warnings and special weather statements for the southern BC coast, with gusts of up to 110 kilometres per hour expected in some areas. Vancouver Island was hit especially hard, with thousands experiencing power outages throughout Saturday. A massive outage affected 4,800 customers in Saanich but it was resolved by the late afternoon.

More than 3,300 customers were in the dark in the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast at the height of the storm, but as of Saturday evening that number was down to about 950. In the Interior, 120 lost power in Kamloops for several hours, while Quesnel and Williams Lake had 43 customers affected by blackouts at one point. Environment Canada says the two Pacific storms will bring 80 to 120 millimetres of rain to the North Shore of Metro Vancouver and Howe Sound by Monday morning.

The storms expected next week will bring winds gusting up to 90 kilometres per hour and daily rainfall of up to 80 millimetres. BC Ferries cancelled multiple sailings due to high winds, including between Comox and Powell River and between Tsawwassen and Southern Gulf Islands. The company briefly lost power at its call centre. Comox Valley residents were under a boil water advisory after the intense rainfall caused turbidity levels to rise in Comox Lake and the Puntledge River.

Environment Canada issued warnings and special weather statements for the southern B.C. coast, with gusts of up to 110 kilometres per hour expected in some areas.