Thousands on south Vancouver Island are without power amid a strong windstorm.
B.C. Hydro was reporting more than 19,000 customers without power on the Island as of 7:30 a.m., mostly in the West Shore. By 5:30 p.m., that was down to about 1,800.
Most of the Greater Victoria outages were in the West Shore. Schools in Langford, Colwood and Sooke remained open, though parents of students at some schools were being invited to pick up their children:
- Dunsmuir
- Lakewood
- Royal Bay
- Sangster
- Spencer
- Willway
- Edward Milne
- Poirier
- Journey
- Saseenos
The school district said there would be no afternoon classes at Royal Bay Secondary.
An Environment Canada wind warning has been lifted for the west and east Island, but remained in effect for Greater Victoria in the afternoon as a Pacific frontal system sweeps across the south coastal regions.
Westerly winds of 50 to 70 km/h are forecast for neighbourhoods near Juan de Fuca Strait.
Downed trees have led to detours on some B.C. Transit routes. The Nos. 54 and 55 were being rerouted due to a downed tree on Duke Road, while the No. 15 was following a detour due to a tree on on Esquimalt Road.
High winds Sunday evening led to delays and cancellations on B.C. Ferries routes. Some sailings out of Departure Bay and Duke Point were cancelled this morning. See the B.C. Ferries current conditions page for more detail.
Despite the rain and cloud this morning, sun is forecast late morning and afternoon with temperatures in the the 10 C range. Winds are expected to ease this afternoon.
