On the heels of the last major weather event, BC is now preparing for several more storms that are expected to bring a barrage of wet weather.
As of Thursday afternoon, the province was already in the midst of the first of the storms that are anticipated to bring up to 80 mm of rain to the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, and potentially over 125 mm of rain to Vancouver Island.
The next storm is anticipated to arrive over the weekend, beginning on Saturday, and The Weather Network suggests that this storm could lead to even more significant rainfall for the Central and South Coasts.
Early next week will be the final storm, which has BC government officials the most concerned.
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The storms are being fuelled by multiple atmospheric rivers which have been forecast to impact much of BC.
According to The Weather Network, “Seven-day rainfall totals of 75-125 mm are anticipated for much of the Lower Mainland, with 125-250+ mm for alpine regions and the west coast of Vancouver Island.”
The Weather Network
The heaviest of the rain is expected to fall over Central BC and Western Vancouver Island.
Limited visibility today but you can see some of the flooded farms in Abbotsford #ShareYourWeather #bcstorm @weathernetwork pic.twitter.com/0hiewcC0bn
— Mia Gordon TWN (@miawgordon) November 25, 2021
BC preparing for the worst
BC Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth spoke during a press conference on flood recovery efforts on Thursday afternoon. He began by taking some time to talk about the impending storms and what the province is doing to prepare for them.
“There are three big pulses of storms arriving with increasing intensity. The one we’re seeing now, another over the weekend, and the biggest hitting around Tuesday,” said Farnworth.
“We’re redoubling our efforts to not only recover from the incredible destruction from last week’s events, but to prepare and respond to the significant weather lining up through the next week. There are three big pulses of storms arriving with increasing intensity,” he added.
“I urge all British Columbians to be extremely vigilant. Keep a close eye on weather alerts to your area.”
Minister of Municipal Affairs Josie Osborne pointed out that due to climate change, these extreme weather events are likely to be more frequent in the future.
Environment Canada issued a weather alert on Thursday morning for the first of the storms, with subsequent alerts likely to arrive over the coming days.