High winds, power outages and ferry cancellations which persisted across Vancouver Island from Christmas Day through the early hours of Boxing Day were lifted by afternoon giving way to sunny skies for shoppers and walkers alike.
Weather warnings came after a low-pressure system brought wind gusts of over 150 kilometres an hour in some coastal areas. The strongest wind gust in the province was recorded on Sartine Island, off the northern tip of Vancouver Island, measured at 163 km/h on Wednesday afternoon.
Environment Canada meteorologist Gary Lee said notable peak winds on Christmas afternoon through evening included gusts of 150 km/h off Solander Island, off the coast of the Brooks Peninsula on the west side of Vancouver Island, gusts up to 83 km/h in Tofino, 76 km/h in Campbell River and Comox. It was a little calmer in Victoria, which had gusts of around 60 km/h.
Peak rainfall during the 24-hour storm period included 64 mm in Courtenay, 62 mm in Cedar, while north Cowichan saw 42 mm, Salt Spring saw 41 mm, and Victoria Harbour saw just 6 mm and Esquimalt 4 mm.
Some of the wind gusts and rainfall patterns in the last hours of the storm into Thursday morning were not as high as forecast, said Lee, as the storm threw meteorologists “a bit of a curveball” and instead took more of turn to the south into northern Washington state, said Lee. “That was a big hiccup this morning,” said Lee.
The storm prompted B.C. Ferries to cancel numerous sailings on Christmas Day and in the early hours of Boxing Day until resuming most routes by 10 a.m. .
Ferry cancellations that continued into Thursday morning further delayed B.C. Hydro crews in their efforts to repair storm damage — especially those in the northern Gulf Islands of Quadra, Denman and Cortes.
B.C. Hydro spokesperson Ted Olynyk said at its peak on the evening of Dec. 25 about 8,000 people were without power in the province, about 5,000 of them on Vancouver Island. But as soon as B.C. Ferries runs had all resumed by 10 a.m. Thursday, crews were on their way and able to complete their work.
By 3 p.m. Thursday, fewer than 100 customers remained without power on Vancouver Island — the majority in Port Alberni — with just small pockets of outages through the rest of the Island and province.
Olynyk said the storm wasn’t “too bad” given some predictions but it’s a matter of perspective given the outages occurred on Christmas Day and Boxing Day when people traditionally gather to spend time with family and enjoy an elaborate feast of turkey or ham.
“There’s never a good time for an outage but luckily not too many had to open up a cookbook on how to barbecue a turkey,” said Olynyk. “We appreciate everyone’s patience,” he said.
Winds that sent logs up against Willows Beach in Oak Bay at high tide Boxing Day morning retreated later in the day and shoppers flocked to shopping centres, including Mayfair and Hillside.
The storm brought fresh snow to Mount Washington Alpine Resort on Christmas Day and also slowed traffic on the Strathcona Parkway to a standstill, the resort said. Chain-up lights were turned on both Wednesday and Thursday and crews were working to clear snow.
Skiers and snowboarders in the backcountry are advised to make conservative terrain choices due to high avalanche risk on the Island. Avalanche Canada is forecasting a high danger rating to continue through today due to “copious snowfall” that will need time to stabilize.
Crews at Mount Washington performed avalanche control in parts of the resort.
Anyone hoping to visit the ski resort should have winter tires, chains and patience, said a statement from the resort, which reported 53 centimetres of snow over 48 hours to Thursday, with more on the way.
A few dozen vehicles that were not prepared for snow delayed snow removal on the Strathcona Parkway after getting stuck, said Chris Cowley, general manager of Mainroad North Island Contracting.
“If they go up a hill and then they slide sideways down the hill, now they’re blocking both directions,” he said.
Snow was coming down heavily but it was warm, creating wet snow and a “greasy issue on the roads,” Cowley said.
“We’re just going up and down plowing snow, putting down sand behind us, but we plow it off, we put it down again and then plow it off again. So it does become a bit tricky, but if you have good winter tires and or chains, you’ll be fine,” he said.
Environment Canada weather forecasts for most of Vancouver Island over the weekend and into early next week predict mild temperatures generally between 5 C to 8 C with chances of rain.
— with a file from Canadian Press
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