Wind warnings remain in place, ferry sailings cancelled as ‘bomb cyclone’ hits B.C.’s south coast

Wind warnings and special weather statements remain posted for Vancouver Island and B.C.’s south coast, but it appears the region has dodged significant damage from a second “bomb cyclone.”

Environment Canada had expanded a wind warning already in place for parts of Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast to include Metro Vancouver on Sunday afternoon.

Winds eased slightly on Monday, but the weather office says gusts of 90 to 100 km/h are still possible in many areas, including Richmond and Delta, as the storm tracks northeast and is expected to pass over northern Vancouver Island.

Vancouver Island’s west coast is expected to face the worst of the storm, with winds of 80 km/h, gusting up to 100 km/h.

With the strongest winds forecast to hit the inner coast on Monday, BC Ferries said it was cancelling at least 20 morning and early afternoon sailings on the following routes:

• Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay (Victoria)
• Tsawwassen-Duke Point (Nanaimo)
• Horseshoe Bay-Departure Bay (Nanaimo)
• Little River (Comox)-Westview (Powell River)

Travellers should check the BC Ferries service notice website for up-to-date information.

Thousands of customers across Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands started the day without power, according to BC Hydro.

Crews were also attending to early outages on the Sunshine Coast, with several thousand customers affected.

The power company is warning people to keep away from downed lines if they see them but to call 911.

A “bomb cyclone” is a weather phenomenon involving a low-pressure system that intensifies by rapidly dropping more than 24 millibars in pressure in under 24 hours, according to Global BC meteorologist Kristi Gordon.

A similar system formed off B.C.’s coast on Thursday, though remained off-shore for the most part.

– With files from The Canadian Press