It’s been a rough couple of days for parts of B.C., as a wet storm ripped through Metro Vancouver, with the Fraser Valley facing the worst of it.
However, as Daily Hive has learned from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), the region avoided something much worse, which is the reality folks in Washington State are facing.
Around 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate in the state that neighbours our province.
“The largest amounts of this atmospheric river were focused upon Washington State, not across southern British Columbia. So we were right on the edge of this particular storm,” ECCC Meteorologist Brian Proctor told Daily Hive.
Proctor pointed to a couple of potential reasons why the impact on Washington State has been so significant.
“A lot of the river basins in Washington State are much smaller than what we have in southern, southwestern British Columbia and the Fraser Valley,” he said.
“Oftentimes, those basins can react much more significantly, much quicker to these really extended periods of precipitation than what we see.”
In 2021, B.C. faced a disastrous storm that left much of the Fraser Valley underwater. You might remember stories about one of the casualties of that storm, Castle Fun Park.
Proctor shared some info about how this week’s storm compared to the 2021 event. Proctor said that 17 precipitation records were broken yesterday.
@AbbyPoliceDept/Twitter | CastleFunPark/Facebook
Chilliwack saw its 22nd wettest day yesterday. Compare that to 2021, during that atmospheric river event, when it saw its 2nd wettest day ever.
ECCC has shared some preliminary rainfall amounts for Dec. 10. The standout was Hope Airport, which recorded 140 mm of rain.
ECCC
We asked Proctor what the situation is like for ECCC during a storm like this.
“It’s really a continuous assessment process. You try to identify what’s likely to be the most significantly impacted areas and focus upon the impacts.”
Not out of the woods yet
Tricky_Shark/Shutterstock
We asked Proctor if the Fraser Valley was out of the woods yet.
“We still have concerns, as does the River Forecast Center. We’ve got another system coming on shore on Friday. It looks like the majority impact of this storm is going to be up on the northern Vancouver Island, Central Coast area,” he said.
“It does look like heavier amounts are expected down into Washington state, so that Sumas Prairie area is still going to be very problematic, with the Nooksack River draining northwards up into the Sumas Prairie area. So we’re not out of the woods.”
Speaking of Sumas, the Sumas Border Crossing was closed and still is as of 10 a.m. on Dec. 11.
Morning update from Sgt. Walker on AbbyPD’s response to the current flood warning. pic.twitter.com/rnagrX4nmf
— Abbotsford Police Department (@AbbyPoliceDept) December 11, 2025
Proctor added that there likely won’t be anything as significant as what we’ve seen over the past couple of days. ECCC will be sharing more information as the day unfolds.
In Metro Vancouver, the forecast shows more rain for the remainder of the week, but nothing is listed as heavy rain.
ECCC
For the remainder of December, Proctor said that things will start to feel a little more wintry as temperatures start to drop, but he doesn’t rule out the potential for more moisture.
“We’re really set up for a pattern of wet conditions as we move through the remainder of December.”
The B.C. Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness will be sharing more at 11 a.m. on Dec. 11 in a livestreamed update.