Windstorm expected to buffet Island
Some parts of coast could see heavy rain, wet snow
A strong Pacific storm is expected to hit the B.C. coast today, Environment Canada says.
Precipitation is forecast to reach Vancouver Island late this morning.
Strong southeasterly winds are expected to develop in the afternoon.
Temperatures will initially be cold enough to bring wet snow over higher elevations, but evening warm air is expected to change all precipitation to rain.
Whistler and the Sea to Sky Highway from Squamish to Whistler could see the snow persist.
Heavy rain and strong winds are forecast to continue into Friday. The highest rainfall amounts will be over the central coast, north and west Vancouver Island, says Environment Canada.
Areas of Squamish, northern sections of Metro Vancouver, and the Fraser Valley can also expect significant amounts of rainfall.
B.C. Hydro says a snowstorm cut power to tens of thousands of customers in the province’s southern Interior.
The hardest hit areas included Clearwater, Quesnel and rural areas just outside of Kamloops, Vernon and Salmon Arm where heavy snow caused branches and trees to crash into power lines.
By Wednesday morning, B.C. Hydro said it had restored power to about 60% of affected customers, but there were still about 34,000 customers without power in the region.
The utilities provider said the snowstorm caused extensive damage to its infrastructure.
Crews were brought in from other parts of the province to restore power.
“All B.C. Hydro crews and available contractor crews in the region have been called to work to repair damaged equipment, including power lines, power poles and transformers. However, poor road conditions in rural areas are causing some delays in response,” B.C. Hydro said in a statement.
The company said heavy snowfall was expected to continue in the region and crews were experiencing delays in reaching troubled areas due to the poor road conditions in some areas.
“We understand that outages are disruptive and ask customers to be patient as crews are working to access trouble spots as quickly as possible,” B.C. Hydro said.
B.C. Hydro had received reports of downed power lines, which are considered an emergency situation. Travellers should stay at least 10 metres back from a downed line and call 911 immediately.
A snowfall warning had been in effect for much of the southern Interior on Tuesday. > Two die in B.C. avalanche, A5