Vancouver airport resumes normal operations after thunder, lightening storm

VANCOUVER – Thousands of residents on British Columbia’s South Coast are still without power but operations at Vancouver’s airport are returning to normal following a thunder-and-lightening storm.

Environment Canada says an upper low-pressure system off Oregon’s coast has been moving north and bringing rain and thunderstorms to areas of southwest B.C.

Kate Donegani of the Vancouver Airport Authority says aircraft on the ground weren’t allowed to taxi and crews couldn’t load or unload baggage for several hours due to safety concerns.

She says operations are back to normal now that the lightening has passed.

But BC Hydro said more than 6,500 customers in Metro Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast were without electricity.

Environment Canada has issued weather warnings for the Fraser Valley, Similkameen, and Okanagan Valley, saying some areas could receive as much as 50 millimetres of rain.