Remains of Hurricane Ana to bring rain, winds to B.C. coast

WATCH (above): The south coast is bracing for yet another fall storm, with the potential to knock out power and cause flooding. More on what’s expected from Jeremy Hunka.

B.C. is bracing for harsh weather as what remains of Hurricane Ana is set to hit the coast by Monday night. However, the source of the subtropical moisture has been cut off and no rainfall warnings are expected.

Fifty to 75 millimetres of rain is expected and wind warnings have been issued for the central coast with forecasts of gusts up to 70 km/hr.

“With those kind of subtropically-influenced storms, there can be really high rainfall rates that last for an hour,” says David Jones of Environment Canada. “So if the rain does come down at 10 to 20 millimetres per hour–even for just one hour–that can overwhelm the storm drains.”

Most of the rain will be over the North Shore Mountains and on the higher elevations of the Sunshine Coast. Other areas will see five  to 10 mm per hour. The heaviest rain will be Monday night and it will continue to rain Tuesday but will not be as intense.

Much of B.C. will still experience very strong winds, mostly due to the cold front moving across the region. The east coast of Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast will be the hardest hit and could see uprooted trees due to the ground being so saturated.

Metro Vancouver and the Lower Mainland will see strong winds similar to those people experienced in the previous storm.

Last week, 80,000 people lost power due to stormy weather and BC Hydro spokeswoman Mora Scott says that “crews are ready to respond if the lights do go out.”

Wet weather could also cause traffic headaches. Yesterday, a mudslide covered two lanes of Highway 1.

“I think everyone’s perception on the south coast is that it’s been one heck of a wet October and that’s definitely the case,” says Jones. “It looks like this wet pattern is going to continue.”

Significant heavy rains through the mountains could also cause the rivers to swell so people are urged to be cautious around the flowing waters.

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-with files from Jeremy Hunka