The latest weather warnings, ferry and flight cancellations and power outages such as a rare ‘bomb cyclone’ are expected to bring heavy rain and hurricane force winds to the southern coast of British Columbia.
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Very strong southeast winds and rain are expected to hit Metro Vancouver Sunday night and Monday morning when a “bomb” storm that has been brewing in the Pacific Ocean for the past three days makes landfall.
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This could lead to flooding, property damage, and traffic delays.
Here’s what you need to know and what to watch out for for the next 24 hours.
Check back here throughout the day for the latest weather updates and news.
What is a bomb storm or bomb cyclone?
News of an incredibly intense low-pressure system moving east across the Pacific Ocean was first noticed last Thursday, and the next day, a heavy surge caused a Victoria-bound cargo ship to lose 40 containers overboard. The MV Zim Kingston is now moored off the Victoria coast and is on fire.
Before long, the words “bomb storm” and “bomb cyclone” spread. Its real name is “explosive cyclogenesis”.
According to the Weather Network, this refers to a storm where the pressure drops 24 millibars (mb) in 24 hours, and in this case dropped in almost 12 hours, and brings heavy rains and hurricane-force winds.
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On Sunday afternoon, when the eastern edge of the storm hit Tofino, Weather Network meteorologist Kevin MacKay warned that the storm could turn into a “double bomb” – this is where barometric pressure drops as much as 50mb in 24 hours.
“Buoys near the storm are reporting waves of more than 12 meters (40 feet),” MacKay said in a prepared statement at 4 pm.
Bouy 46005 off Tofino posted a pressure of 942.5mb on Sunday afternoon, which is a new Pacific Northwest pressure record. The previous record was 943 mb, which was recorded during post-tropical cyclone Harriet in 1977.
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To track the beast, check this out website .
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What to look for
On Friday afternoon, the British Columbia government issued a statement warning of an “intense low pressure system” heading north from Vancouver Island, bringing strong winds from the southeast.
(up to 80 km / h) to the south coast on Sunday night and Monday morning. Temperatures will be mild, around 10 degrees Celsius on Monday.
People are asked to be aware of the danger of falling trees and it was also recommended to clean the gutters, but if you are reading this it is probably not safe to do so now.
Residents are also asked to check nearby storm drains to see if they may be blocked by leaves and to keep an eye out for overland flooding and streams.
And drive carefully, especially through puddles of water.
exist various weather warnings indeed on Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver.
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Power outages are expected
A BC Hydro report last month said residents should prepare for more power outages this fall and winter due to stormy weather following record heat between June and August that killed trees or weakened their root systems.
The weather event on Sunday and Monday is very likely to cause this, so be prepared. Charge all your electronic devices now. Ideally, have a home emergency kit with enough food, water, and non-perishable supplies to support your home for a week or more. Make sure it’s stored in an easily accessible place that everyone knows about.
If you have no power, call 1800 224 9376 or * 49376, or check your smartphone at bchydro.com for cut lists. As of 6 pm, there were 36 outages in Metro Vancouver that affected 14,000 customers and 19 outages on Vancouver Island that affected 500 customers.
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Residents most at risk of storm power outages are on Vancouver Island’s west coast, and the winds are expected to last an unusually long time, all through Monday.
BC Hydro issued regional alerts for Metro Vancouver / Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island at 6:30 pm
Don’t expect to catch a ferry on Monday, and keep an eye out for flights
BC Ferries has canceled multiple departures on monday ahead of a storm that is expected to hammer sections of the British Columbia coastline with wind gusts of up to 90 km / h.
As of Sunday afternoon, the ferry corporation had canceled its 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. Monday departures between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen and all of its Monday morning departures along with its 1 p.m. departures between Horseshoe Bay. and the exit bay of Nanaimo. Morning trips were also canceled on the Tsawwassen-Duke Point and Comox-Powell River routes.
Flights from San Francisco to Vancouver and vice versa were canceled Sunday night and Monday morning.
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more to follow.
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Reference-vancouversun.com