Strong winds are expected to hit the BC coast as the ferry service cancels main sailings

BC Ferries has canceled many Christmas Day sailings after Environment Canada issued dozens of wind and heavy rain warnings for British Columbia’s south coast.

The ferry company said the “severe” forecast meant all sailings between Tsawwassen and Duke Point in Nanaimo had to be canceled on Wednesday, while trips between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay between 11.00 and 17.00 were also scrapped.

Sailings were also canceled between Horseshoe Bay and Departure Bay in Nanaimo between 10:40 a.m. and 6:35 p.m., as well as trips between Comox’s Little River and Powell River from 9:55 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.

BC Ferries said Tuesday afternoon that the cancellations were made “to ensure the safety of our customers and crew,” and other sailings Wednesday were also at risk.

It said the cancellations were “a result of Environment Canada’s severe weather forecast for high winds and waves in the Strait of Georgia and North Vancouver Island.”

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Environment Canada had previously issued 24 wind and heavy rain warnings for the south coast on Christmas Day as the region braced for the second in a series of severe storms.

The agency said up to 100 millimeters of rain could drench Metro Vancouver and other areas, while winds of up to 100 km/h could hit Victoria and elsewhere on Vancouver Island.

The wind and rain warnings cover most of the south coast and Vancouver Island, and extend inland to parts of the southern interior.

The warnings came after the first of three storms moved inland on Tuesday, bringing strong winds that toppled trees, cut power and blocked roads in some coastal areas.

It had arrived late Monday, with gusts of up to 100 mph (165 km/h) with hurricane-force winds recorded on the island’s west coast overnight, before the weather system moved out of the region later Tuesday morning.

The strongest winds were recorded before dawn on Tuesday at remote Sartine Island, but gusts over 100 km/h were also recorded at several other locations off Vancouver Island’s west coast.

BC Hydro said downed trees caused outages on Vancouver Island, while Drive BC said the Sunshine Coast Highway was temporarily blocked by downed power lines about 40 km west of Sechelt.

Elsewhere on the Sunshine Coast, fallen trees and downed hydro mains partially cut Hanbury Road near Roberts Creek.

The third weather system is a low-pressure system that Environment Canada says will approach southern Vancouver Island early Thursday, although there was uncertainty about its path.

The agency says an expected southerly track would limit the strongest winds and heavy rain to the south coast.