By Canadian Press

New B.C. storm brings 100 km/h winds with some Vancouver Island homes still in dark

Nov 22, 2024 | 10:11 AM

VANCOUVER — BC Hydro is warning customers in remote areas of Vancouver Island that they may be without power until late Saturday, as winds from another powerful storm hit the coast.

The latest in a series of fall storms has brought gusts up to 100 km/h but Environment Canada says it isn’t as strong as the bomb cyclone that knocked out power to more than 300,000 properties this week.

BC Hydro says crews have reinstated power to most customers, but “small pockets” on Vancouver Island may still be blacked out until Saturday evening.

BC Hydro’s outage list shows more than 11,000 customers without power, with most of the outages on the island, which was hit hard by the bomb cyclone, a powerful storm triggered by rapidly dropping atmospheric pressure.

Environment Canada has issued more than a dozen special weather statements and wind warnings for Vancouver Island and the B.C. south coast today due to the latest storm.

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It says the storm will be “less intense than the last one,” but winds will increase throughout the day, peaking this afternoon.

It says the strongest gusts of up to 110 km/h, will be felt along West Vancouver Island, before easing overnight or early Saturday.

Gusts of 100 km/h were recorded before dawn in Howe Sound, while other areas saw gusts approaching 90 km/h.

“While this low is not as intense as the major storm that affected the area on Tuesday and Wednesday, and peak wind speeds are forecast to be generally lower, strong winds may still cause damage and disruptions, and slow down clean up efforts,” the weather office says.

The weather office also issued separate snowfall warnings for Coquihalla Summit from Hope to Merritt as well as Highway 3 from Paulson Summit to Kootenay Pass.

The Coquihalla is expected to get about 15 cm of snow Friday, while the region on Highway 3 is expected to get up to 40 cm before tapering Sunday afternoon.

Additional snowfall warnings have also been posted for Fernie and Morrissey — which is expected to get up to 30 cm of snow by Sunday — and for South Peace River, which is expected to get 15 centimetres overnight.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 22, 2024.

The Canadian Press