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Environment Canada issues wind warnings for coastal B.C.; gusts up to 100 km/h expected


November 11, 2015   by Canadian Underwriter


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Environment Canada has issued wind warnings for Wednesday night for coastal and southern British Columbia.

Strong southeast winds up to 100 km/h over Haida Gwaii are expected

An alert from Environment Canada for the central coast said that a storm will approach the B.C. coast on Wednesday night, with strong southeast winds up to 100 kilometres per hour (km/h) over Haida Gwaii. The winds will ease abruptly later Thursday morning as they push southwards.

“Damage to buildings, such as to roof shingles and windows, may occur,” the alert warned. “High winds may toss loose objects or cause tree branches to break.”

For “over exposed coastal sections of East Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast, southeast winds will increase to 80 km/h Thursday morning,” another alert said. The storm is also expected to affect North Vancouver Island and B.C.’s North Coast. An alert for West Vancouver Island said that southerly winds will increase to 60 to 90 km/h over West Vancouver island early Thursday morning.

Environment Canada said that a powerful low pressure system in the Gulf of Alaska is sending an intense cold front barrelling toward the B.C. coast, which will provide a “few hours of increasingly strong southeast winds as it approaches, followed by a wind shift and a few hours of rapidly diminishing westerly winds after it passes.” Very heavy rain will accompany this system, with total rainfall between 50 and 100 millimetres likely, Environment Canada report. Rain from the storm may also linger over Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley on Friday, boosting rainfall totals above 100 millimetres.

The low pressure system is also expected to result in 15 to 30 centimetres of snow for the South Klondike Highway, from Carcross to White Pass, and the Haines Road regions, from Haines Junction to Pleasant Camp. Environment Canada is advising motorists to adjust driving with changing road conditions, as visibility may be suddenly reduced at times in heavy snow.


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