UPDATE: Wind and rainfall warnings have been lifted along B.C.’s south coast.
The third of a series of storms started lashing B.C.’s south coast on Saturday afternoon as the remnants of Super Typhoon Songda moved into the region.
But the storm has been weaker than expected with the low pressure centre tracking faster and further north Saturday evening than Friday’s storm.
By 8 p.m., winds were dying in Victoria and the Lower Mainland, but high winds of up to 100 km/h are still expected in the Sunshine Coast and areas along the Strait of Georgia.
WATCH: Waves crash in Tsawwassen during B.C. storm
Environment Canada issued a wind warning for Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, the Sunshine Coast, Victoria and East Vancouver Island with peak winds expected to exceed 90 km/h before the storm set in.
Winds started picking up late Saturday afternoon with the strongest gusts expected to come in the evening and overnight. As of 5:30 p.m., the highest gusts had reached 96 km/h at Race Rocks, just off of the southern tip of Vancouver Island.
PHOTOS, VIDEO: Heavy wind and rain hit B.C.’s south coast in third of series of storms
A rainfall warning was also issued for Metro Vancouver, East Vancouver Island and Howe Sound.
BC Ferries cancelled sailings on four major routes from 3 p.m. onward.
WATCH: Cancelled ferries
The City of Vancouver said there will be around 150 additional homeless shelter spaces open Saturday across multiple locations, while the City of Victoria opened up 325 emergency shelter spaces.
PHOTOS, VIDEO: Heavy wind and rain hit B.C.’s south coast in third of series of storms
The Vancouver Park Board said Stanley Park will be closed as of 8 p.m.
WATCH: Stanley Park closed
BC Hydro spokeswoman Simi Heer said additional crews from the interior were called in ahead of the storm to provide support in areas that are expected to see the most damage.
Thousands of BC Hydro customers in the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast, as well as on Vancouver Island, experienced power outages on Saturday afternoon and evening.
BC Hydro crews had resolved several of them by approximately 8 p.m., but 27,000 customers were still without power.
That number had grown to almost 34,000 by about 10 p.m., including almost 14,000 in the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast, and more than 20,000 on Vancouver Island.
WATCH: Vancouver Island Waves
The latest storm comes on the heels of strong winds and rain that hit the coast on Friday morning, causing outages for 190,000 customers at its peak. Crews working overnight restored power to the bulk of homes by Saturday morning.
PHOTOS, VIDEO: Wild wind and rain leave destruction across B.C. South Coast on Friday
There were reports of fallen trees in part of Metro Vancouver on Friday. In Kitsilano, the wild weather knocked a tree onto a house. The home was badly damaged but no one was injured. In Maple Ridge, a tree crashed into a shed and a fence narrowly missing a mother and her baby.
A teenager died after being hit by a falling tree in a wooded area in Surrey Friday afternoon.
– With files from Kristi Gordon, Amy Judd, Jill Slattery and The Canadian Press
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