- Just under 30,000 BC Hydro customers are still without electricity in the Lower Mainland and on the Sunshine Coast
- More than 110,000 customers experienced power outages between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Tuesday
- Some of those places will not have power restored until tonight
- Some BC Ferries sailings were affected
- Heavy snow expected in higher elevations and on the mountain passes – drive carefully
- Witnesses saw a series of bright flashes over the North Shore, related to a substation outage
- A boil water advisory has been issued for the City of Nanaimo
SCHOOL CLOSURES:
The following NORTH VANCOUVER ELEMENTARY schools will be closed for instruction today: Braemar, Canyon Heights, Cleveland, Highlands, Larson, Montroyal, Norgate, and Westview.
The following NORTH VANCOUVER SECONDARY schools will be closed for instruction today: Carson Graham, Handsworth, Mountainside and North Vancouver Distributed Learning.
All other North Vancouver Public Schools will be OPEN for instruction today.
Officials anticipate power will be restored for all schools to resume regular operations tomorrow.
Full coverage:
A powerful storm system brought snow, rain and strong winds to B.C. Tuesday, knocking out power to thousands of BC Hydro customers.
According to BC Hydro, more than 110,000 customers were without power between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. As of 8 p.m., there were 75,000 customers without power.
Spokeswoman Mora Scott said the severe weather caused the most damage in Victoria, Duncan, Abbotsford and Chilliwack.
The weather also caused damage across Metro Vancouver. In Stanley Park, downed trees made for a treacherous causeway. At one point, people were asked to stay out of the park as crews cleared away branches. The park has since reopened.
A substation outage affected thousands of customers on the North Shore. The outage knocked out the lights on the Lions Gate Bridge. It also caused a series of bright flashes that lit up the sky.
“The flashes that people saw earlier tonight were related to an outage at the Capilano substation,” said Scott. “Basically, the circuit breakers and the line fuses there together created those huge flashes when they went out.”
WATCH: B.C. hit by storm
BC Hydro said there were also large outages in Burnaby, Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam and Port Moody.
They say crews will be working throughout the night to restore power, but some customers could be in the dark into Wednesday.
Earlier Tuesday, Environment Canada issued a wind warning for Metro Vancouver, parts of the Fraser Valley, Greater Victoria and West Vancouver Island.
Gusts up to 80 kilometres per hour were recorded at Victoria’s airport, while another weather station on the Trial Islands, just to the south, were rocked by winds racing up to 124 kilometres per hour.
“That’s hurricane-force wind speeds,” said Matt MacDonald, a warning preparedness meteorologist based in Vancouver.
“You can imagine driving down the highway at 120 kilometres per hour and sticking your face out the window — what that would feel like.”
In Abbotsford, the gusts soared to at least 83 kilometres per hour. Vancouver’s winds reached at least 57 kilometres per hour and were expected to grow stronger later in the day, he added.
The conditions resulted from a cold front and the centre of a low pressure system that was tracking directly across Vancouver Island and into the Interior, MacDonald said.
He added the weather was severe but not particularly unusual because the fall months are B.C.’s stormiest.
Up to 30 millimetres of rain was predicted into the evening in Howe Sound and eastern portions of the Fraser Valley.
The weather was forecast to let up by about sunset, MacDonald said. British Columbians should expect a reprieve, including even a bit of sun, on Wednesday, he said.
BC Ferries was reporting some sailing cancellations and schedule delays due to the blustery weather. Extreme weather, including pounding rains, also cancelled some ferry sailings Monday.
Chilliwack has been hit particularly hard:
Kelsee Fournier, also a resident of Chilliwack, said their trampoline was blown out of their yard and ended up in the Fraser River:
A semi has now been cleared after it blocked off Highway 1 westbound at Annis Road in Chilliwack. Photo credit: @tracedd007
Snow changed to rain at times Tuesday morning for the Coquihalla Highway – Hope to Merritt, and Allison Pass. The rain fell over sections of the highway with compact snow making for tricky driving conditions.
The Coquihalla Highway – Merritt to Kamloops, Okanagan Connector and Begbie Summit experienced strong wind gusts up to 80 km/h Tuesday afternoon as a vigorous cold front swept across the Southern Interior with winds expected to diminish in the evening.
A wintry mix was expected on Highway 3 – Paulson Summit to Kootenay Pass, and the Okanagan Connector – Merritt to Kelowna.
The snow was good news for local ski hills. Cypress Mountain plans to open on Friday and officials there say there is more snow on the ground now than at any point last year. Whistler is also planning an early opening, with the chairlifts going into operation on Thursday and Blackcomb opening on Nov. 26.
BC Ferries cancelled some sailings due to adverse weather conditions.
Meanwhile, people living in Nanaimo are being told to boil their water before drinking it.
The city says recent heavy rainfall has caused increased turbidity in the water supply. As a precaution, residents are being asked to boil their drinking water for one minute.
PHOTOS: Many accidents on the Coquihalla Highway on Monday:
-With files from Jon Azpiri, Jill Bennett and the Canadian Press
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