British Columbia’s Crown utility said about 225,000 customers were without power at one point Monday as strong winds battered coastal areas as well as parts of the central interior, and many , outages could continue overnight.

A statement from BC Hydro said the winds caused “significant damage” across Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast and the Lower Mainland.

The utility’s outage map shows more than 100,000 customers were still without power late Monday afternoon, an improvement from more than 150,000 at one point during the day.

Bulletins on BC Hydro’s website say the utility is asking its customers along the South Coast to “prepare for the possibility of being without power overnight.”

She says her crews are working to repair damage to electrical equipment, prioritizing outages involving downed lines that could pose a safety risk.

It says the next priority will be restoring power to critical and municipal services, followed by outages affecting large numbers of customers, then more minor outages.

BC Hydro says Surrey, Victoria and Sechelt were among the areas hardest hit by wind-driven outages that triggered Environment Canada warnings of gusts reaching speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour in the Greater Vancouver area.

The utility says it planned for the storm and had all of its available crews and contractors working to repair the damage and restore power.

A years-long drought has weakened trees across the province, making them more susceptible to wind, and the storm toppled many dead or damaged trees and branches on top of its electrical equipment, BC Hydro said in a statement.

Wind warnings remained in effect Monday afternoon for the west coast of Vancouver Island as well as Victoria, Metro Vancouver and parts of the Fraser Valley, as well as a large area of ​​central Vancouver. interior, south and west of Prince George.

The weather bureau said wind gusts could reach speeds of up to 90 kilometers per hour in Greater Victoria, increasing to 100 on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

In Metro Vancouver and the eastern Fraser Valley, winds gusting to 100 or 90 kilometers per hour, respectively, are expected to ease by Monday evening.

In the central interior, Environment Canada said strong winds were expected to peak at 70 kilometers per hour with gusts of up to 90 kilometers per hour.

Winter storm warnings and advisories were also in effect on several stretches of highway in southern British Columbia, where the weather bureau said strong winds and heavy snow could create “near zero visibility and dangerous driving conditions.”

The warnings covered the Coquihalla Highway from Hope to Merritt and Highway 3 from the Paulson Summit area to Kootenay Pass.

The snow is expected to decrease overnight, with accumulations ranging from about 20 centimeters at Coquihalla Summit to about 40 centimeters along Kootenay Pass by Tuesday, the warning bulletin said.

Lower-level special weather advisories were in effect Monday for the Coquihalla Highway between Merritt and Kamloops, as well as Highway 3 from Hope to Princeton and the Okanagan Connector from Merritt to Kelowna, where forecasts called for snowfall ranging from five at 10 centimeters.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published November 4, 2024.

Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press