Advertisement

Wind knocks out power, weather warnings issued for southern B.C.

Click to play video: 'B.C. evening weather forecast: May 18'
B.C. evening weather forecast: May 18
Senior meteorologist Kristi Gordon has the Wednesday, May 18, 2022 forecast for Metro Vancouver and British Columbia – May 18, 2022

Strong winds from an unseasonable storm knocked out power to thousands on Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast and Lower Mainland on Wednesday.

BC Hydro said more than 121,000 customers lost power at the peak of the storm, but that by early evening it had restored electricity to about 75,000 of them.

Environment Canada posted wind warnings on Wednesday for much of Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast and the southern Gulf Islands.

The forecast called for very strong southwesterly winds of 70 kilometres per hour, gusting to 90 km/h, but easing by afternoon.

Special weather statements have also been posted for more than a dozen areas in southern B.C., including the Fraser Canyon, Nicola, Similkameen, Shuswap and East and West Columbia, where up to five centimetres of snow is forecast.

Story continues below advertisement

The weather office says the snow was expected to change to rain later in the day, but cautioned that driving conditions could be hazardous.

The Fraser Valley, much of Metro Vancouver, the Howe Sound, inland on Vancouver Island and Whistler areas were warned to expect from 40 to 60 millimetres of rain.

With files from Global News

Sponsored content

AdChoices