Residents living in Greater Victoria are being cautioned by Environment Canada about some more significant weather systems passing through the area.
Following a wet weekend, including a rainfall warning that will last through Monday morning, Environment Canada has issued an alert about high winds expected to hit the Greater Victoria area and the Juan de Fuca Strait by early afternoon.
Environment Canada says that winds between 40-90 km/h will be travelling in a westward direction over the Greater Victoria area and will start to pick up late this morning, due to the passage of a cold front in the area.
“Across most of Greater Victoria, winds will rise to 40 to 60 km/h. However, exposed coastal sections near the Strait will experience westerly winds of 60 km/h with gusts to 90 km/h,” reads a statement from Environment Canada.
Environment Canada is warning that the high winds may cause tree limbs to break and power outages are possible. Experts are also predicting that the soft soil, due to recent heavy rainfall, could result in trees toppling over.
“We’re not totally in the clear. Definitely, the atmospheric river will end today as it moves south and deeper into Washington State. However, as that clearing happens it’s going to be coming with a big shot of wind,” said Armel Castellan with Environment Canada.
As of Monday morning, nearly 2000 people were without power on Southern Vancouver Island, with the largest outage affecting people in the North Cowichan area.
A fallen tree on a power line is an emergency. Stay back 10 metres and dial 911 to report it. Learn more about staying safe: https://t.co/I2Y9pkxCF4 pic.twitter.com/ocyD3u3pRc
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) November 15, 2021
There are also major outages on Mayne and Saturna Island and another outage affecting nearly 150 people in North Saanich.
Castellan said during a press conference on Monday morning, that he “fully expects” more power outages as a result of the windy weather.
With more rain and heavy winds expected for the area, more outages around Greater Victoria are anticipated. For the latest updates on power outages, head to BC Hydro’s Outages Map.
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