Southwestern British Columbia is recovering from the latest in a series of storms to blow through the region over the past week.
Powerful winds and wet weather toppled trees and downed power lines over the weekend, cutting off power for thousands of Vancouver Island residents.
About 500 people on the west coast of the Island are still without electricity while crews work to fix the outages.
And in Victoria, a stretch of Dallas Road was closed because of high waves.
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The high winds also forced BC Ferries to cancel virtually all of their sailings for the rest of the day.
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Sailings between Cortes Island and Quadra Island were also cancelled.
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The ferries were back in service Sunday though with some delays.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people were stranded on Grouse Mountain overnight after the gondola stopped running due to high winds.
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Travellers on the Sea to Sky Highway should expect a snowy drive. Fifteen to 20 centimetres of powder are expected to fall in Whistler by tomorrow morning. Winter tires and chains are recommended for drivers.
A special public avalanche warning has been issued for the central Columbia Mountains. Avalanche Canada says the main concern is in low-elevation terrain, which is often considered safe, but there have been several reports of big, unexpected avalanches that could prove dangerous. Backcountry enthusiasts are being told to bring transceivers and carry a shovel in their pack.
“These areas below treeline are often considered as safe playgrounds,” Karl Klassen, Avalanche Canada’s public avalanche warning service manager, said in a statement. “But with this current condition, we have had many reports of unexpected avalanches that are definitely large enough to cause injury or death.”
A wind warning remains in effect for the Island’s west coast, along with a rainfall warning for Metro Vancouver and snowfall warnings moving up the Fraser Valley and over the Coquihalla.
-With files from Erika Tucker and The Canadian Press
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