Downpours, high winds around Lower Mainland as fall’s first storm rolls in
Posted September 23, 2020 9:06 am.
Last Updated September 23, 2020 10:01 am.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — The downpour around the Lower Mainland had caused power outages and prompted a rainfall warning Wednesday morning.
NEWS 1130 Meteorologist Russ Lacate says rain has been accompanied by a southeast wind gusting 50 km/h, and it could reach up to 60 km/h or 70 km/h across the Lower Mainland. But he says the wind will ease off later in the day.
About 15 to 25 millimeters of rain is expected around the Lower Mainland.
“Now that’s more rain than we’ve had in the past 40 days combined,” he says, adding it came down in a matter of hours.
A rainfall warning is in place for much of the region, including Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam, and the North Shore.
First #storm of #Fall2020 headlines your #OneMinuteWeather for September 23rd: Live updates throughout the day on @NEWS1130 @BT_Vancouver @CityNewsVAN pic.twitter.com/b6pShFS0hc
— Russ Lacate (@NEWS1130Weather) September 23, 2020
Lacate says to be mindful of tree branches coming down and causing possible power outages, as well as flooded intersections due to clogged storm drains.
More than 2,000 customers in White Rock had been without power after a tree fell on some wires Wednesday morning. An equipment failure had caused an earlier outage in Richmond, affecting 3,500 customers.
“Sometimes it’s an easy fix, like simply removing a branch from a line, but it can cause significant damage at times,” says spokesperson Mora Scott. “Trees and branches are able to pull down our wires as well as damage our power poles and those jobs can take a bit longer to clean up if that does happen.”
Rain and lots of it here on the North Shore this morning. @BT_Vancouver @CityNewsVAN pic.twitter.com/jr9HHaIHul
— Greg Harper (@GS_Harper) September 23, 2020
Meanwhile, BC Ferries spokesperson Deb Marshall says if the forecast comes through as predicted, it doesn’t expect to cancel any sailings.
“But, you know, weather forecasting is not an exact science and sometimes the weather can come up higher than expected.”
She suggests checking the BC Ferries website ahead of traveling.
Tune in for traffic and weather updates every 10 minutes one the ones. Follow meteorologists Russ Lacate and Michael Kuss for more updates on Twitter.
