Vancouver Island is facing another significant stretch of wet and windy weather, with two alerts in effect as an atmospheric river approaches the region. Environment and Climate Change Canada describes atmospheric rivers as long, narrow corridors of concentrated moisture that transport large amounts of water vapour through the atmosphere, often producing significant rainfall when they reach the coast. “We can talk about an atmospheric river, because there’s two systems back to back,” said Steve Boily, a meteorologist with the weather agency. Boily says the first system is expected to arrive Tuesday, with the heaviest rainfall forecast for Tuesday night into Wednesday. Another round of precipitation is expected Thursday and Friday. “It’s a big system. Moisture is coming from afar, somewhere in the central Pacific Ocean. It’s going to be a wet week.” Boily said. West coast and Alberni Valley among areas to watch Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement warning of significant rainfall across Vancouver Island from Tuesday through Thursday. A separate yellow wind warning is in effect for North Vancouver Island, where southeasterly winds could reach 90 km/h, with gusts up to 110 km/h. Boily says the west coast of Vancouver Island is expected to receive some of the heaviest rainfall, with the Port Alberni area also facing potentially significant accumulations. When asked about the possibility of Port Alberni receiving as much as 300 millimetres of rain in one week, Boily said that amount was possible, although forecasts vary. “Maybe over the course of the full week, yes. With this first round, our own Canadian model is maybe the outlier with 250 millimetres, but most weather numerical models predict more in the way of 150, but that’s quite a bit of rain,” he said. Boily says the rainfall is particularly notable given how much precipitation has already fallen across the Island. “With all the rain that we had last week and still until Friday, it’s going to be something to watch for,” he said. While there isn’t much snow on the mountain tops right now, which reduces the potential for rapid snowmelt contributing to flooding, Boily says rising rivers could still create problems for drivers. “It’s always possible that rivers at some point, in some areas, they just overrun over the roads,” he said. His advice to motorists is to slow down and be cautious when travelling in wet conditions. “It doesn’t take much rain on the road or much water on the road for aquaplaning,” he said. BC Hydro crews continue restoring power after 50,000 customers affected The latest forecast comes as B.C. Hydro continues working to restore electricity following the weekend’s storms. Ted Olynyk, the utility’s manager of community relations for Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast, says approximately 50,000 customers were without power at the height of the latest storm. “Hardest hit area was Duncan. They got hit really hard. A lot of damage out there,” Olynyk told CTV News. He says the utility had brought most affected customers back online, but some outages remained in difficult-to-access communities. “We still have about a thousand customers out as a result of the early Sunday morning, late Saturday night storm,” he said. Approximately 700 of those customers were in the Bamfield and Zeballos areas, according to Olynyk. While crews expected to restore power in Bamfield, the situation in Zeballos was more complicated. “Zeballos is a bit of a challenge. It’s going to require a helicopter to do the work to bring in the pole and replace the equipment there,” he said. “If we can’t get in the air, unfortunately, it looks like that could be a few days before we get power restored there, depending on the next weather event.” Olynyk is asking anyone who remains without electricity to contact B.C. Hydro directly rather than assume the outage has already been reported. More outages possible as additional storms approach With more strong winds expected, B.C. Hydro is warning that damage left behind by previous systems could create additional problems. “While your power may not have gone out from the last storm event, there could be some trees and branches that are just hanging on. And it’s not going to take much, maybe, to bring it down for the next storm event,” Olynyk said. He says residents should track outage information. “Make sure you’ve got your emergency kit, make sure you’ve got your plans,” he said. He adds B.C. Hydro have been moving crews around Vancouver Island as resources become available, with contractors helping in areas where repairs remain outstanding. Olynyk says the utility invests in preparations throughout the year, including strengthening its infrastructure and managing vegetation near power lines. “We’ve spent $150 million this year doing vegetation management work. We’ve tripled our budget over the last six years,” he said. B.C. Ferries has also warned passengers that sailings on several Vancouver Island routes could be cancelled as weather conditions deteriorate. Travellers are being encouraged to check service notices before heading to terminals. Environment Canada says additional rainfall warnings could be issued as the incoming systems get closer and the forecast becomes clearer. For now, Boily says drivers should take extra care on the roads as the Island moves through another stretch of wet weather. “Be careful of your transit while this thing hits this week,” he said.
