Strong winds and heavy rain left upwards of 2,000 Metro Vancouverites without power on Wednesday, Jan 31 morning.
An atmospheric river has brought a parade of storms to the region over the past several days, resulting in heavy rainfall and winds gusting up to 50 km.
As of 10:15 a.m. on Wednesday, 2,920 customers are without power from 28 outages across the Sunshine Coast and in the Lower Mainland, according to BC Hydro's outage list.
Fallen tree takes power offline in Vancouver
In a Vancouver power outage, a fallen tree left 709 customers without power in the South Cambie neighbourhood.
Crews were also on-site at an outage affecting 1,500 customers in West Vancouver early Wednesday morning.
Windy Metro Vancouver weather causes power outages
Spokesperson Kyle Donaldson said most outages that are currently listed on the website are as a result of planned work on BC Hydro's equipment. However, inclement weather, particularly wind, is the biggest cause of power outages in B.C.
"We prepare for storm season year-round so our crews can activate storm response plans at a moment's notice," he told V.I.A., adding that the company has a team of in-house meteorologists that monitor incoming weather systems.
"We have crews and contractor crews ready if any issues come up."
Since it is difficult to predict how much damage a storm will cause, BC Hydro encourages customers to stay prepared with an emergency kit, including a flashlight, batteries, first aid kit, water, and food.
The Metro Vancouver weather forecast includes more windy weather and rain overnight Wednesday, although the sun is expected to return on the weekend.
Locals looking to head out on road trips should be wary of poor travel conditions on B.C. highways. The heavy rainfall has caused landslides in high-traffic areas and resulted in large power outages in areas like Hope.
To report a power outage, call 1 800 BCHYDRO (1-800-224-9376) or *HYDRO (*49376) on your mobile or report it online.
Check the BC Hydro power outage map for more information on updates.
Stay up-to-date with changes in expected precipitation and wind across 50 neighbourhoods in the Lower Mainland with V.I.A.'s Weatherhood.
