A Monday morning storm delivered a dose of chaos to the Vancouver area as cars flipped on highways and power lines came down.
The storm triggered a wind warning from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) for Metro Vancouver southeast, including Surrey and Langley.
“A vigorous frontal system moving across the south coast this morning will produce strong winds and heavy rain,” the agency said. “Ahead of the frontal system, strong southerly winds gusting to 90 km/h will blow across Boundary Bay and adjacent communities near the water.”
It warned the winds could cause unexpected damage.
“Damage to buildings, such as to roof shingles and windows, may occur. High winds may toss loose objects or cause tree branches to break,” ECCC said. “Motorists, especially in high profile vehicles, may expect hazardous driving conditions on highways subject to strong crosswinds.”
The storm knocked out power to swathes of the Lower Mainland, with about 9,000 customers still without electricity by 9 am. An outage affected the area around the Abbotsford International Airport, and large parts of Surrey were also without power.
BC Hydro
The rain also made conditions slick on the roads. The West Vancouver Police Department shared a photo of a flipped car on Highway 99 before sunrise. Luckily, no one was seriously injured in that crash, but the force asked drivers to be careful.
“Very heavy rain + significant pooling water = SLOW DOWN,” it said on X.
Very heavy rain + significant pooling water = SLOW DOWN. Fortunately there were no serious injuries from this single vehicle crash this morning on Highway 99. #DriveSmart #SlowDown #Preventable @icbc #WVPD pic.twitter.com/jg5WQNEgIP
— West Vancouver PD (@WestVanPolice) November 4, 2024
The good news is the weather is set to improve as early as Monday afternoon.
“A potent storm system is bringing heavy rain to the south coast this morning. As the system quickly exits the region, rain will begin to ease near midday,” ECCC said.
Rainfall amounts of up to 70 millimetres are expected in Vancouver.