Wind, rain pound BC; tens of thousand of customers left in the dark

VANCOUVER – A wind and rainfall warning ended Wednesday for parts of B.C.’s south coast as severe weather at its height left almost 80,000 BC Hydro customers without electricity overnight.

Roughly 33,000 customers were without power on Wednesday morning, though all lights were expected to be back on by noon.

Environment Canada had warned a Pacific frontal system could dump up to 60 millimetres of rain by early Wednesday, though the rainfall was expected to ease in the morning.

The agency warned that heavy downpours could cause flash floods and water pooling on roads.

The south coast was lashed overnight with wind gusts of up to 90 kilometres an hour, forcing BC Ferries to delay a sailing and cutting power to almost 80,000 BC Hydro customers at one point.

The hardest hit areas were Metro Vancouver, Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast, and Environment Canada says the system is expected to move into the province’s Interior.