Ferries cancelled as storm hits B.C., more rain expected

After a long stretch of dry, mild weather, fall has arrived in full force across Metro Vancouver.

After a blustery start to Friday, Environment Canada says more rain and breezy winds are on the way for Metro Vancouver as the region finally shifts out of its prolonged dry spell.

Meteorologist Ken Dosanjh says the South Coast is entering a much more typical late-October pattern — one that will bring a series of fast-moving systems over the next several days.

“We are transitioning more into a fall-like season,” Dosanjh said.

“What we don’t want is too much rain or too much wind all at once… we are picky, and we want it to be successive over a long duration.”

Storm sweeps across B.C.

Friday’s storm brought gusts of up to 80 km/h in southern Metro Vancouver and steady rainfall throughout the morning.

B.C. Ferries cancelled several of its trips between Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island, the full list of which are as follows:

• 10:15 a.m. and 12: 45 p.m. departing Tsawwassen
• 10:15 am and 12:45 p.m. departing Duke Point
• 8 a.m., 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. departing Swartz Bay
• 9 a.m., 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. departing Tsawwassen

The sailings were removed from the schedule due to Environment Canada’s “severe weather forecast for high winds,” BC Ferries said in a statement.

According to BC Hydro, the tempestuous weather brought down power lines in the central interior, northern B.C. and on Vancouver Island.

In Winter Harbour, the westernmost settlement on the island, stormy conditions brought on “extensive damage” and a small landslide. According to its website, over 3,000 people in the Interior, over 2,000 people in the Lower Mainland and over 2,000 people in Vancouver Island’s northern region were without power as of 10 a.m. Friday morning.

The storm hit Vancouver Island particularly heavy, with gusts of over 130 km/h recorded near the northern tip overnight and more than 100 millimeters of rain near Tofino.

River Forecast Centre watching rising streams

The B.C. River Forecast Centre issued a high streamflow advisory for the South Coast, warning that smaller rivers and creeks could rise rapidly as the storm moves through.

“As we go through the day today, we’re going to start to see that sweep down more into the South Island and then across to the Sunshine Coast and the Lower Mainland,” said David Campbell, head of the River Forecast Centre.

“Really it’s going to be the next 24 to 36 hours when the bulk of the rain is going to come for those southern areas.”

He added, “We’ve got some hazards that come along with that, obviously expecting to see rivers rising rapidly in response to this heavy rain that’s going to go on through the day or today overnight, and then through tomorrow. By the time we get into Saturday, things should have improved as we go into a bit of a drying trend.”

Storm not over yet

The stormy start to Friday will continue for much of the weekend, with a “very wet next few days” in store that could expand into next week for some areas, including the Sunshine Coast.

“As this system moves through, on Saturday we’re expecting a low-pressure system in behind to move through the area,” Dosanjh explained.

“That’s where we can anticipate breezy winds — not as strong as what we’ll see this morning — but still breezy winds as well as more precipitation on the way."

Environment Canada expects 10 to 20 millimetres of rain across Metro Vancouver this weekend, with up to 30 millimetres over higher elevations such as the North Shore Mountains.

Forecasters say conditions should improve later Friday, with a brief break before the next system moves in this weekend.

From drought to downpours

After an unusually dry and warm start to fall, forecasters say this return to stormy weather will help the region catch up on rainfall totals.

“If we recall back to a few months ago, at the end of August to early September, we saw this prolonged heat spell that was quite anomalous for the time,” Dosanjh said.

“That really held the heat and summer well into September.”

Now that we are transitioning more into fall, Vancouver is seeing around 47 percent of its normal precipitation for October, Dosanjh said.

“So these next few systems will push that up closer to normal periods.”

The quick transition from parched soil to saturated ground could also create new hazards, however.

Leaves and branches coming down in strong winds may clog drains and gutters, increasing the risk of localized flooding in low-lying areas.

BC Hydro warns of more possible outages

BC Hydro says the combination of dry soil from years of drought, and trees still full of leaves, is creating unstable conditions as winds pick up again this weekend.

Spokesperson Susie Rieder said the utility saw about 1,900 customers lose power Friday across parts of Burnaby, Vancouver, and the Fraser Valley, mostly from branches hitting lines.

“There is potential for more outages because of the trees and the fact that we haven’t had a huge wind event yet,” Rieder said.

“The soils are quite dry from the years of extended drought that we’ve had, so we sort of had a bit of a prolonged summer, and a lot of these trees are really brittle.”

She added that Hydro crews have been tracking this storm system for days and will remain on standby through the weekend as new weather fronts move in.

“We do track storms year-round. We have in-house meteorologists that look every single day at the weather and can predict when a storm is coming,” Rieder said.

“That way, we have the right people and materials in the right places to respond as quickly and effectively as possible.”

Preparing for storm season

With several more systems in the forecast, BC Hydro is encouraging people to prepare now for possible power interruptions.

“You can quickly gather some supplies for an emergency kit — bottled water, non-perishable food, batteries, and a phone charger,” Rieder said.

“It doesn’t need to be fancy or expensive, but having 72 hours of supplies and a plan for your family is really important.”

The utility is also urging people to secure patio furniture and Halloween decorations ahead of any strong wind events.

Last year, a single patio cover that blew off a balcony in White Rock caused an outage affecting 14,000 customers, Rieder noted.