Tens of thousands of people, primarily on Vancouver Island, were without power overnight after hurricane-force wind gusts from a “bomb cyclone” system blasted southwest British Columbia on Tuesday night.
Gusts of nearly 160 km/h were recorded at the Sartine Island weather station just off the coast of northern Vancouver Island, as the storm brought down trees and power lines across the South Coast.
Several Wednesday morning ferry routes have been cancelled, including ferries between Vancouver and Victoria, Nanaimo and the Southern Gulf Islands.
B.C. Ferries is advising travellers to check its service notices page prior to travel.
A ‘bomb cyclone’ that brought wind gusts of up to 160 km/h to parts of the B.C. South Coast led to highway closures and power outages affecting thousands of people Tuesday night.
The intense weather system sent outflow winds roaring through B.C.’s coastal valleys, triggering wind warnings across the coast and special weather statements far inland.
A cyclone is the term used when masses of warm and cool air collide to create spiralling winds, while forecasters say the “bomb” portion of the name refers to a rapid pressure drop of over 24 millibars (the unit used to measure air pressure) in 24 hours. In this case, the bomb cyclone formed around 400 kilometres west of Tofino, B.C.
“It’s a very widespread wind event, which is part of the problem, but also very long lasting,” said CBC science communicator Darius Mahdavi on Tuesday evening.
“Where usually a wind event like this might last six to 10 hours, this one’s going to last anywhere from 12 to 20 hours across parts of the coast.”
People in coastal B.C. are preparing for a powerful storm known as a ‘bomb cyclone,’ that is expected to bring hurricane-force winds to the region. Wind warnings issued Monday evening cover the entirety of B.C.’s coast, with Environment Canada forecasting wind gusts up to 120 km/h.
Meteorologists predicted the storm would be accompanied by rain and snow, with Mahdavi saying higher elevations in some areas could get nearly a metre of snow by Wednesday night.
Multiple ferries to and from Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland were cancelled Tuesday night..
As of 6 a.m. PT on Wednesday, almost 90,000 B.C. Hydro customers on Vancouver Island were still without power. That number was as high as 150,000 on Tuesday.
“The Island was hit extremely hard,” Ted Olynyk with B.C. Hydro told CBC’s On The Island on Wednesday morning.
He said the utility, anticipating ferry cancellations, brought crews over from Vancouver on Tuesday night to help, and will bring more over when they can.
Videos posted online show a number of trees falling onto power lines. Olynyk is warning people who come across downed lines to stay far away.
“Always stay 10 metres back, the length of a city bus,” he said.
Tree down on wires in <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/NorthVan?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#NorthVan</a> at Old Dollarton and Ellis. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/WindStorm?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#WindStorm</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/RyanVoutilainen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@RyanVoutilainen</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/Brad604?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Brad604</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/PeterVogel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@PeterVogel</a> <a href=”https://t.co/Jrmus94bto”>pic.twitter.com/Jrmus94bto</a>
—@SowSayWeAll
Downed trees due to strong winds closed several highway across the province Tuesday evening. As of 6:30 a.m. PT Wednesday, a 24-kilometre stretch of Highway 4 east of Port Alberni remains closed.
Portions of highways 19, 28 and 30 on the Island also remain closed, according to DriveBC.
Drivers can check DriveBC for the latest road conditions along their planned route.
“If you don’t have to travel, don’t travel. If you don’t know the area, be very careful,” said Tofino Mayor Dan Law on Tuesday afternoon. “Make sure there’s stuff in your car if you get stuck on a highway between trees … bring water and some food.”
Law said the impact of the storm was likely greater than a regular fall storm, as the strong outflow winds came from the east.
“The problem with that is that the trees are not necessarily used to that particular direction. And so they’re weaker … they strengthen themselves against the prevailing winds,” he said.
A ‘bomb cyclone’ is forming off the coast of B.C. But is it really as dramatic as it sounds?
Environment Canada says the strong winds are expected to gradually weaken on Wednesday.
Tuesday’s storm is the second major windstorm to hit B.C.’s South Coast in a week, with one that hit on Nov. 12 also causing tens of thousands of properties to lose power.