Winds could hit 90 km/h as warning issued for parts of Metro Vancouver

A wind warning has been posted for parts of Metro Vancouver on Tuesday, with strong or damaging gusts expected in some areas.

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), a wind warning is only issued when there is a “significant risk of damaging winds.”

In the warning posted early Tuesday, the weather agency says a “strong low will move onto the BC South Coast today” and is expected to bring “strong southwesterly winds of 70 gusting 90 km/h will develop over southern sections of Metro Vancouver near the water.”

The warning is only up for southern regions of Metro Vancouver near the water, including areas like White Rock and Delta.

In addition to the wind warning, ECCC also issued a weather statement yesterday, calling for “large waves due to gale-force southwest winds, storm surge and seasonably high tides have the potential to produce high water levels for Tuesday. Coastal flooding is possible along exposed shorelines, especially in low-lying areas.”

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ECCC says the windy weather could result in loose objects being tossed, which could cause injury or damage.

At this point, there are a few power outages around Metro Vancouver, but BC Hydro has not definitively linked them to the storm.

You can check outages online here.

It’s been a wild start to the week when it comes to the weather around the Lower Mainland. A special weather statement was up for much of the last 24 hours, as parts of the region saw snow and sleet.

Many of the out-of-town highways around BC have also been hammered by winter weather, with several alerts still in place.

⚠️❄️TRAVEL ADVISORY ❄️⚠️
Limited visibility and heavy snowfall warning for: #BCHwy3 – From #HopeBC to #PrincetonBC #BCHwy5 – From #HopeBC to #MerrittBC & #MerrittBC to #Kamloops #BCHwy97C – From #MerrittBC to #Summerland

Drive with caution in and around these areas. pic.twitter.com/Fpfe7tChKl

— DriveBC (@DriveBC) January 9, 2024

While the weather may not be ideal for everyone, ski hills have been celebrating and embracing the magical conditions.